Attention turns to earnings after last week's June data showed the Chinese economy slowed at a pace that was expected.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on Friday at 2185.9 — for the week it was down 1.69 percent, in its fourth week of losses.
Market Factors:
Premier Wen Jiabao had another busy weekend, this time gauging the economic situation in western China's city of Chengdu, last weekend he was in eastern China's Jiangsu. His comments that the government will "step up policies to fine-tune the economy" are unlikely to excite investors unless they translate into specific and immediate measures.
In what must be the swiftest policy about-face ever, just hours after microblogging sources from the property industry reported Friday evening that the southern city of Zhuhai would drop its property curbs, at midnight this was denied by the city's housing officials. Local governments are eager to stimulate housing sales by loosening restrictions. Land sales revenue for 300 Chinese cities fell 38 percent to 652 billion yuan in the first half, according to data from China Index Academy.
Stocks to watch:
ZTE — The telco gear maker is expecting first-half net profit to fall by 60 percent to 80 percent due to forex losses and lower investment gains.
CIMC — The container maker sees first-half earnings at between 701 million and 1.26 billion yuan, 55 percent to 75 percent lower year on year.
CHANG'AN AUTO — The automaker warns of a 44 percent to 49 percent drop in net profit for the first six months due to weaker sales and less contribution from joint ventures.
CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES — The airline sees a decline of more than 50 percent for its first-half net profit.
—By Cheng Lei, CNBC Asia Pacific