Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China

    BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The strong earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Monday has made 66 stock listed companies stop trading as of Tuesday.

    These Sichuan and Chongqing-based companies include 45 Shanghai listed companies and 21 Shenzhen listed companies, such as Sichuan Road and Bridge, Huiyuan Optical Communication and Datong Gas. The stock exchange failed to contact the companies after the earthquake.

    People close to the Shanghai Exchanges said some of the companies may contact the exchanges in the next two days and relevant information will be published on Wednesday.

    A 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Wenchuan County in Sichuan Province at 2:28 p.m. Monday, and more than 1,000 aftershocks have been recorded.

    The death toll caused by the earthquake climbed to 9,219 by Tuesday morning.

    These companies will restart trading when they release relevant information to the public.

    Analyst from the Research Center of Changjiang Securities said investors may face psychological shock, but the earthquake has a limited impact on the county's overall economy and profits of listing companies.

    Earthquake has brought the capital market with tremendous psychological impact, especially for those companies engaging in the business of infrastructure, transportation, water and electric power.

    Most of the stock trading system in southwest areas operated smoothly by 9:00 pm on Monday, although the aftershocks were persistently recorded.

    Some securities trading outlets in northwest areas decided to stop on-the-spot trading, and suggested the investors do their transaction over the telephone and internet for safety's sake.

    Earthquake may hinder investors' trading to a certain degree in the near future, said analyst.

    On reaction to the strong earthquake, Chinese shares opened 3.07 percent lower on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, opened at 3,515.71 points, down 3.07 percent.

    The Shenzhen Component Index on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange opened at 12,727.76 points, losing 3.33 percent.