Chinese share prices fell on Tuesday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 59.13 points, or 1.08 percent, to close at 5,425.88 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller market also ended lower at 18,346.45 points, dropping 72.02 points or 0.39 percent.

The combined turnover on the two bourses shrank to around 207.82 billion yuan (27.34 billion U.S. dollars) from 220 billion yuan on previous trading day.

The heavyweights which led the market on the previous trading day tumbled on Tuesday. Coal stocks dropped by more than 6 percent, Sinopec was down 1.95 percent, and China Unicom down 2.7 percent.

Property companies and securities firms rebounded. Vanke A, China's largest listed property firm, rose 1.74 percent to reach 31.53 yuan per share.

China Construction Bank (CCB) made a strong debut on Tuesday on the Shanghai Stock Exchange as its share price leaped 32.25 percent to close at 8.53 yuan.

The CCB's A-share listing will be followed by China Shenhua Group, the nation's largest coal producer, and PetroChina, the nation's leading oil producer.

"The string of IPOs will help stabilize the market by providing a greater stock supply as heavyweight stocks have a larger share in the market," said Guo Tianyong, banking expert with China University of Finance and Economics. 

The IPOs come as the government encourages red chips to list on the mainland to absorb excess liquidity and help cool the red hot stock markets.

The government has also taken other measures to reduce liquidity. The Ministry of Finance issued about 35 billion yuan often-year special treasury bonds on Monday to the general public, which is believed to be able to divert money from the stock market.

China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has reiterated its stance towards insider trading, warning people working in the equities market and the regulatory body against share trading.

After jumping about 130 percent in 2006, the index has surged more than 85 percent so far this year despite five rate hikes and a slew of other measures to cool the market.  

Editor: Donald