SHANGHAI stocks ended with the biggest decline in more than six weeks after small caps suffered from weak economic data, home appliance makers were hit by expiring government subsidies and the market suffered a glut of unlocked shares newly eligible for sale.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell for a fourth straight day, shedding 26.84 points, or 1.17 percent, to 2,272.42.

"Holders of small and medium-cap stocks got a wake-up call from HSBC's China Purchasing Managers' Index, which fell back into contraction territory again in May and recorded the lowest level in eight months," Guangzhou Wanlong Securities Consulting Co said yesterday.

The index generally tracks privately-owned companies, dominated by medium- and smaller-sized businesses.

Media firms, medical equipment producers and motorcycle makers were the biggest losers. The ChiNext index for start-up companies slid 29.68 points, or 2.8 percent, to 1,022.46.

Shares in home appliance makers fell after the government ended subsidies aimed at increasing consumer spending. Hisense Electric Co dropped 3.5 percent to 12.41 yuan. Qingdao Haier Co lost 1.96 percent to 12.49 yuan.

In May, investors sold a net 24.7 billion yuan (US$4 billion) of non-tradable shares when they became unlocked. That was up 19.4 billion yuan from April, China Galaxy Securities said. About 1.12 trillion yuan of non-tradable shares will be released in the next three months.