Fu Chenghao/Shanghai Daily news

The Shanghai stock market closed virtually flat yesterday after a newspaper reported only 28 percent of the country's brokerage firms recorded profits in the first half of the year.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and foreign-currency B shares, dipped 0.04 percent to 1,020.63. The A-share Index inched down 0.01 percent to 1,073.86, while the B-share Index dropped 3.16 percent to 51.34.
"There is slack in the brokerage sector now," said Liang Jing, a Guotai Jun'an Securities Co analyst. "Compared with a year ago, firms seem to have less business."
Only 10 of the 36 brokerages who released a half-year report thus far posted earnings, the Shanghai Securities News said.
The 10 companies cashed a total of 327 million yuan (US$40.37 million). The others reported a combined loss of 995 million yuan, the newspaper said.
Changjiang Securities Co Ltd led the unprofitable brokerages after losing 82.99 million yuan.
China International Capital Corp Ltd was the biggest earner with 212 million yuan.
The country's 64 brokerages, as members of the inter-bank bond market, were required to issue first-half reports before Wednesday. The remaining 28 Chinese brokerages filed reports, but the information has not been released to investors yet.