(Yicai Global) Oct. 19 -- Stock markets on China's mainland slid at the lunch break as lower-than-expected third-quarter gross domestic product data gave some investors cold feet.

The market opened high this morning but quickly lost steam even before China’s National Bureau of Statistics started to release a slew of third-quarter economic data, and stayed weak throughout the rest of the morning session.

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.33 percent to 3,325.29 at the lunch bell, while its Nasdaq-like Star Market Board 50 Index, or Star 50, was down 1.20 percent to 1,421.20

The Shenzhen Component Index stood at 13,483.81, down 0.36 percent. The ChiNext Price Index, which tracks growth enterprises listed in Shenzhen, was also 0.71 percent under water at 2,705.13.

China reported a robust third-quarter 4.9 percent gross domestic product growth rate, but apparently even this dashed market hopes after 21 chief economists at major Chinese financial institutions Yicai Global surveyed had predicted that figure to go as high as 5.26 percent on surging consumption as tight epidemic control measures imposed earlier now manifest their effectiveness.

Editor: Ben Armour