China shares were lower in early trade as oil refiners and airlines fell after a jump in oil prices, dealers said.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) gained 0.84 pct to 4.80 yuan after announcing that first-half net profit rose 57.3 pct to 64.53 bln yuan.

At 9:46 am, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 27.04 points or 1.11 pct at 2,404.68.

Light, sweet crude surged 5.62 usd to settle at 121.18 usd a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange overnight.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) shed 2.57 pct to 9.86 yuan, while PetroChina, the biggest index component, fell 1.46 pct to 13.50 yuan.

China Eastern Airlines was down 0.93 pct to 5.32 yuan. The carrier said it flew 3.27 mln passengers in July, down 10.66 pct from a year earlier, but up 19.04 pct from the previous month.

Newly listed China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock, the country's largest rail equipment maker, continued its decline, falling 5.44 pct to 3.30 yuan. Its Hong Kong-listed shares ended at 2.63 hkd in their trading debut yesterday, up just 1.15 pct from their IPO price of 2.60.

(1 usd = 6.84 yuan)