China stocks plunge 5 percent on airline sell-off

SHANGHAI, China -- China's key Shanghai Composite Index has fallen 5.3 percent in a broad sell-off led by airlines, refiners and other large capitalized shares.

The benchmark Shanghai index shed 128.53 points on Monday to close at 2,319.87. Analysts say investors were disappointed by a lack of market support from the government.

Airlines were among the biggest decliners. China Southern Airlines dropped 9.9 percent to 5.27 yuan. Rivals Air China and China Eastern Airlines plunged by the 10 percent daily limit to 6.18 yuan and 5.02 yuan, respectively.