China Stocks: Yuan Longping High-Tech , Zhongjin Gold, Zijin

Shares of the following companies had unusual moves in China trading. Stock symbols are in parentheses as of the 3 p.m. close.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China’s stock exchanges, fell 76.73, or 2.6 percent, to 2,855.52. The CSI 300 Index declined 2.9 percent to 3,163.58.

Gold producers: Zijin Mining Group Co. (601899 CH), China’s largest gold producer, advanced 2.1 percent to 7.81 yuan. Zhongjin Gold Corp. (600489 CH), the second biggest, rose 0.4 percent to 36.83 yuan.

Gold for immediate-delivery increased as much as 0.3 percent to $1,410.75 an ounce today, the highest level since Jan. 4, as violence in Libya intensified, prompting investors to seek precious metals as a haven.

Seed companies: Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Co. (000998 CH) jumped 5.9 percent to 35.55 yuan, the highest since Dec. 21. Shandong Denghai Seeds Co. (002041 CH) added 2.3 percent to 70.10 yuan.

The government will introduce measures to bolster the seed industry and these support measures will help domestic seed companies to compete against foreign rivals and ensure state grain safety, Mao Changqing and Shi Liang, analysts at Citic Securities Co., wrote in a report today.

Hong Yuan Securities Co. (000562 CH), China’s first publicly traded brokerage, dropped 5.2 percent to 17.42 yuan, the biggest decline since Jan. 17. The brokerage said it plans to raise up to 7 billion yuan ($1.07 billion) by selling as much as 500 million shares in a private placement.

--Zhang Shidong. Editor: Allen Wan

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Zhang Shidong in Shanghai at +86-21-6104-3040 or szhang5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net