Chinese Shares Down 0.9% as Export Data Halts Rally

    Combined turnover was 134.5 billion yuan (19.7 billion U.S. dollars), expanding from 106.53 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

    Losses led gains by 546 to 312 in Shanghai and 417 to 301 in Shenzhen.

    Overnight, U.S. stocks posted the biggest gain in more than three months with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up almost 6 percent, after Citigroup said it was profitable in the first two months of 2009.

    The key Shanghai index opened 1.9 percent higher, tracking the Wall Street rally but lost ground after China's customs administration announced the February trade data.

    Exports plummeted 25.7 percent year-on-year in February, the fourth straight monthly decline, as global demand shrank, the administration said.

    The figures dampened investor confidence and halted the early rally, an analyst with Guotai Assets Management said.

    Investors were also disappointed that no new economic policies had been announced by the annual "two sessions" of legislators and political advisors, scheduled to close this week, analysts said.

    Banking shares fell. China Construction Bank slid 0.49 percent to 4.09 yuan. Huaxia Bank fell 2.37 percent to 9.46 yuan and China Merchants Bank declined 2.08 percent to 14.59 yuan.

    Shares of steel makers gained, however, boosted by media reports that the China Iron and Steel Association had urged the government to raise tax rebates to boost steel exports.

    Baosteel, the country's biggest steel producer, edged up 0.74 percent to 5.44 yuan. Angang Steel, the second-largest, added 0.4 percent to 7.57 yuan. Shares of Xinjiang Bayi Iron and Steel climbed 2.97 percent to 7.62 yuan. Masteel rose 4.93 percent to 3.83 yuan.