Chinese shares fell Friday on rumors of a possible weekend interest rate hike but ended the week up 0.3 percent, according to AP. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 13.88 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,696.63, while the Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second exchange finished flat at 1,039.64. Investors unloaded banks and other heavyweight shares after rumors of a rate hike were sparked by the announcement this week of higher-than-expected April inflation and bank lending data. «The concerns of further government credit tightening still hovered on the market,» said Li Bin, an analyst for Guolian Securities. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China's biggest commercial lender, dropped 1.1 percent to 4.53 yuan, while Bank of China Ltd. shed 1 percent to 4.09 yuan. Resource shares lost ground on lower commodity prices fell. China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., also known as Sinopec, declined by 1.1 percent to 9.2 yuan, while PetroChina Ltd., Asia's biggest oil and gas producer, slipped 0.6 percent to 11.15 yuan. Real estate shares fell after a news report the government might soon impose a nationwide residential property tax. Poly Real Estate Group, China's second-biggest developer, shed 1.7 percent to 10.9 yuan, while rival China Vanke Co. ended off 0.8 percent to 7.3 yuan. In currency markets, the yuan strengthened to 6.8267 to the U.S. dollar, up from Thursday's close of 6.8287.
