(Yicai Global) March 19 -- Stock markets on the Chinese mainland ended the day roughly on par with the morning's open today as all three major benchmarks closed mixed.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.18 percent to 3,090.98 at the close, with just CNY353.2 billion (USD53 billion) of shares swapping hands, some CNY45.2 billion less than yesterday. The Shenzhen Component Index closed down 0.04 percent at 9,839.74, with turnover of CNY422.4 billion, while the ChiNext Price Index, which tracks growth enterprises in Shenzhen, wound up 0.11 percent higher at 1,708.87 as investors traded CNY117 billion worth of shares.

Longs and shorts competed fiercely throughout the day in Shanghai, as the local index crossed the 3,100 milestone six times in total, before finally closing below the key psychological level.

All three benchmarks gained at least 2.5 percent yesterday, with every sector rising on average and liquors and other drinks leading the way.

Today, gains and losses were about equally split between sectors, with the biggest leap coming in oil equipment, communication, software and the internet. Drinks and liquor and ferrous metals were the only two sectors to lose more than 1 percent on average.

Editor: James Boynton