Chinese shares continue to dip following Shanghai-HK stock link

Chinese stocks fell for the second consecutive day on Tuesday after the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program opened on Monday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.71 percent to finish at 2,456.37 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed at 8,196.59 points, down 1.05 percent.

The Hushen 300 Index, another key indicator that samples about one-fifth of the total stocks listed on the two markets, lost 1 percent to close at 2,541.42 points.

Total turnover on the two bourses shrank substantially to 319.11 billion yuan (52 billion U.S. dollars) from 354.29 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program gives investors mutual market access, an attempt to open up the capital market in the Chinese mainland. Hong Kong investors can buy shares in 568 Shanghai-listed companies while mainland buyers can access 266 Hong Kong stocks. Initial restrictions set turnover limits of 13 billion yuan (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) on Hong Kong investors and 10.5 billion yuan on mainland investors.

The 13 billion Hong Kong daily quota was used up before trading closed on Monday. Only about 38 percent of the quota was used on Tuesday.

Textile machinery, alcoholic beverages and finance sectors dropped the most in Tuesday's trading, with the sub-indices down 2.25 percent, 1.07 percent and 1.06 percent, respectively.