China stocks fall on Sinopec, China Life results

China's key stock index fell more than 2% in early trade on Monday as weak first-quarter results at index heavyweights Sinopec Corp and China Life Insurance sparked worries over corporate earnings prospects.

The index was also pressured as large government holdings in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and CITIC Bank , worth around $3 billion, would be freed for regular trading on Monday after the expiry of a lock-up period.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell as much as 2.43% in early trade, although it trimmed its loss and was down 1.83% at 3,492.777 points at 0201 GMT.

There was also heavy profit-taking pressure after the index soared 15% last week in its biggest weekly gain since 1996, buoyed by official steps to boost the market, in particular a cut in the stock trading duty by two-thirds, to 0.1%.

Sinopec dropped 3.79% to 11.41 yuan after the company, Asia's top oil refiner, posted a 69% fall in first-quarter net profit, as soaring crude oil prices pushed its refining business into a deep loss.

China Life , the country's top life insurer, fell 4.74 yuan to 32.59 yuan.
China Life reported a 61% fall in first-quarter earnings based on Chinese accounting standards, hit by a poor investment performance. (Reuters)