Fewer lock-up shares eligible for trade

BEIJING -- Some 3.024 billion locked shares will become eligible for trading on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges this week, down from 3.993 billion shares unlocked last week.

The unlocked shares are worth about 52.09 billion yuan ($7.8 billion), according to information service provider Wind Info.

Locked shares from 39 listed companies will become tradable from Nov 6 to 10, it said.

Shaanxi Heimao Coking Co Ltd is set to unlock 486 million shares, the largest from a single company next week.

Under China's market rules, major shareholders must wait one to two years before they are permitted to sell their shares.

Chinese stocks closed lower Friday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.34 percent at 3,371.74 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.68 percent lower at 11,215.19 points.