(Yicai Global) April 11  -- China's mainland stock markets declined as investors averted big purchases due to inflation worries. 

The Shanghai  Composite Index dropped 1.6 percent to 3,189.96 points at the close.  The Shenzhen  Component Index fell 2.7 percent to 10,158.40. The  ChiNext Index, which tracks growth enterprises in Shenzhen, declined 2.1  percent to 1,691.10. The trading volume was moderate.

China's consumer price  index increased 2.3 percent in March from a year ago, the biggest gain  for the inflation gauge since last October, according to the National  Bureau of Statistics. The producer price index also ascended 0.4 percent.

The CPI and PPI data fell  within economists' expectations, but major indexes' double-digit gains  from earlier this year seem to be taking a break. Investors are  withholding from big moves, knowing that rising inflation could cause  regulators to refrain from implementing more accommodating fiscal and  monetary policies. 

Editor: Emmi Laine