Mainland shares down slightly

Shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell slightly in light trading as traders considered the impact of last week’s earthquake in Sichuan, the South China Morning Post reported. The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.54% to 3,604.76, while the Shenzhen A-share Index lost 0.35% to 1,177.518. Property developers and financial firms saw the steepest declines. Both stock exchanges stopped trading for three minutes at 2:28pm as part of a national observance mourning earthquake victims.