BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Major stock indices in China dropped for a second day Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down by 1.38 percent to close at 3,075.03.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 2.42 percent lower at 10,292.12.
Combined turnover on the two bourses stood at about 425 billion yuan (about 67 billion U.S. dollars), slightly up from 419.5 billion yuan for Wednesday.
Despite the steady market expectation about economic growth prospects, investors have become more cautious about uncertainties in the economy, said Guangdong-based Essence Securities.
Home appliance manufacturers led the decline.
Gree Electric Appliances, a leading air conditioner maker in China, dropped 8.97 percent, after it announced that no dividends would be handed to shareholders for 2017.
The company's net profit attributable to shareholders surged 44.87 percent to 22.4 billion yuan last year.
Software companies were relatively strong Thursday with the sub-index edging down only 0.05 percent. Hunan Copote Science Technology Co. rose by the daily limit of 10 percent. Inspur Software Co. rose 7.62 percent.
The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style enterprises, dropped 2.1 percent to close at 1,781.28.
