Chinese shares dipped Friday, with the financial sector leading the decline and real estate developers staging strong performances.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index finished 0.19 percent lower at 2,598.85 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.33 percent lower at 7,504.72 points.

Combined turnover on the two bourses remained thin, shrinking further to 282.59 billion yuan (about US$40.52 billion) from 292.6 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Financial shares spearheaded the losses, with the sub-index down 2.06 percent.

Shares of China Life Insurance (Group) Company, a state-owned insurance provider, lost 3.51 percent to 22.53 yuan. Shares of Huatai Securities, meanwhile, slumped 3.9 percent to close at 15.78 yuan.

The real estate sector stood out as the biggest gainer, with the sub-index up 2.01 percent and seven companies surging by the daily limit of 10 percent. Shares of China Vanke, a leading developer, gained 1.36 percent to 23.81 yuan. Meanwhile, shares of Poly Developments and Holdings Group climbed 2.06 percent to 12.4 yuan.

The real estate rallied after media reports said some commercial banks in major cities, including Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, had lowered their mortgage rates for first-time home buyers.

The ChiNext Index, the country's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, fell 0.82 percent to close at 1,263.19 points.

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