(Yicai Global) Jan. 22 -- Stock markets on the Chinese mainland opened down and closed lower at the lunch break today, bucking consecutive gains over the last two trading days.

The Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.73 percent at 2,591.37 going into the break, after CNY68.8 billion (USD10.1 billion) of shares swapped hands. The Shenzhen Component Index closed for lunch at 7,553.44, down 0.95 percent, after investors traded CNY88.7 billion worth of shares. The ChiNext Price Index, which tracks growth enterprises in Shenzhen, fell 1.23 percent to 1,259.15 points, with a trading volume of nearly CNY27.7 billion.

Most sectors across the board lost out, with liquor and beverages -- which were among the best gainers yesterday -- suffering a 1.93 percent decline. Healthcare, metals, software and several others lost around 1 percent.

The three indexes all gained at least 1.4 percent on Jan. 18 to end with an overall gain throughout the week, and started strong yesterday after the National Bureau of Statistics said China's economy grew faster than expected -- 6.6 percent compared with 6.5 percent -- in 2018.

Editor: James Boynton