SHANGHAI stocks declined yesterday, with a weak turnover, as investors adopted a wait-and-see attitude amid uncertainty over the resumption of initial public offerings.

The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.58 percent to 2,206.78 points, with a flagging turnover of 56.2 billion yuan (US$9.1 billion) - the lowest since December 13. The index fell 0.83 percent this week, a third consecutive weekly loss.

"The market is still in adjustment and a shrinking turnover indicates investors are cautious amid concern that the restart of IPOs may add new downward pressure on share prices and the newly-introduced property controls will cast a shadow on the outlook of developers and financials," said Shan Ying, analyst with Tongxin Securities.

Gree Electric Appliances Inc lost 2 percent to 26.20 yuan. The company reported 14 percent growth in first-quarter profit, according to a preliminary earnings statement, missing market-consensus expectations of a 20 percent gain.

Meanwhile, China plans to allow investors to trade gold and silver futures in a night session during 9pm to 2:30am on a trial basis, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a media briefing yesterday.

Now, investors can only trade futures from 9am to 11:30am and from 1:30pm to 3pm.