Beijing - China's two stock markets on Friday lost about 3 per cent of their value, following an overnight fall on Wall Street.

The key Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks shares traded in foreign and local currencies, dropped 3.29 per cent, losing 74.96 points to end the week at 2,202.45.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index also lost 3.74 per cent of its value to close at 608.18, down 23.62 points.

The Shanghai Daily quoted analyst Guo Yanhong from Ping'an Securities as saying China's slump was partly caused by pessimism over the US economy.

"Rising US jobless claims deepened concern over the economic recession and sparked a global sell-off," Guo told the newspaper.

"A gloomy outlook on the economy hangs around (Shanghai) investors while weak heavyweight blue chips are restraining the rebounding of the index," he was quoted as saying.

State petrochemical giants Sinopec and Petro China were among the major losers on Friday, followed by banks and real estate firms, the newspaper said.

The Shanghai index has lost more than 50 per cent of its value this year, but analysts had forecast a slump and warned for months that Chinese shares were heavily inflated. (dpa)