BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks continued to fall Tuesday despite strong performance of some bluechip shares, with small-cap companies losing the most.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went down 0.45 percent to end the day at 3,061.95 points while the smaller Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.37 percent lower at 9,763.78 points.
More than 2,000 stocks on the two bourses registered losses. Only the financial sector and liquor industry saw mild gains.
The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, ended 1.67 percent lower to close at 1,758.23 points.
China's stock market has maintained a downward trend since the government took multi-pronged efforts to crack down on financial irregularities, which investors fear will squeeze liquidity.
Bucking the broad declining sentiment, bluechip shares, especially those in the financial sector, logged strong performance.
China Merchants Bank, for example, saw its shares up 4.5 percent at closing. Ping An Insurance also saw its shares reach a new high this year.
SSE 50 Index, which tracks 50 stocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange with large market capitalization and high liquidity, went up 1.27 percent.
Oil stocks were among the biggest losers Tuesday after registering substantial gains the previous day, with Sinopec Oilfield Service Corporation slumping by the daily limit of 10 percent.
