Chinese stocks closed the year with losses as traders were unimpressed with the country's manufacturing activity in December, a sign that Beijing's stimulus may have left little impact to uplift the economy.
The Shanghai Composite Index, the main gauge of Chinese stocks, slipped 1.6%, or 55.56 points, to cap Tuesday's trade at 3,351.76. The Shenzhen Component Index inched down 2.4%, or 256.54 points, to 10,414.61.
China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index or PMI slipped month on month but stayed in expansionary territory at 50.1, according to data from the statistics bureau, missing the 50.3 index forecasted by Reuters-polled analysts.
In corporate news, investors dumped holdings in a number of securities firms, especially those involved in the securities misrepresentation case against centrifugal compressor manufacturer Jin Tong Ling Technology (SHE:300091), which closed 4.2% lower.
Chinese securities brokers Sealand Securities (SHE:000750) and Huaxi Securities (SHE:002926), which were among the defendants of the case, dropped 5.5% and 5.3%, respectively. Everbright Securities (SHA:601788, HKG:6178), another defendant, lost 6.2% in the Shanghai bourse.
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