But the property sector soon rebounded on the belief that the 0.27 percentage point hike in benchmark lending and deposit rates would do little to dampen the property market.
Bank shares climbed on the back of strong earnings and talk that the rate hike could actually widen lending margins slightly, since most bank loans were longer than a year while deposit rates on current accounts had not shifted.
Some analysts said this effect could boost bank earnings by between 2 and 5 percent. The hike is not expected to hurt loan demand in China's booming economy.
The Shanghai Composite Index ended at 3,014.442 points on Monday, rising above 3,000 for the first time since its 9 percent plunge on February 27. The record intra-day high of 3,049 points was hit on that day. Gainers outnumbered losers by 512 to 347. Turnover in Shanghai A shares was very heavy at 94.4 billion yuan ($12.2 billion), though down from 104.1 billion yuan on Friday. The central bank had already signalled the rate hike in previous weeks, and traders do not expect it to change ample liquidity in the stock market. Some newly created mutual funds took the market's opening weakness as an opportunity to buy.
"The interest rate hike won't have much impact on the stock market - it's not a cooling measure directed against stocks," said Zhang Yanbing, analyst at Zheshang Securities.
Other analysts, however, noted that the index had failed three times since January to break cleanly above 3,000, and said a decisive break of this level in coming weeks was by no means inevitable given stocks' high valuations.
Bank of China, the second most heavily weighted stock, jumped 5.8 percent to 5.29 yuan after saying it expected to report a rise of more than 50 percent in net profit for last year, aided by lower taxes.
Minsheng Bank soared 7.89 percent to 11.90 yuan after reporting a 43 percent increase in net profit for 2006 and announcing completion of an 18.2 billion yuan share placement. Pudong Development Bank surged 9.78 percent to 25.37 yuan.
"Bank shares should continue rebounding, because their consolidation has finished and they all lost a lot over the past weeks," said Zhou Lefeng at Xiangcai Securities.
China Vanke, the largest listed real estate developer, rose 4.15 percent to 16.56 yuan, after falling more than 4 percent at the opening. China Life, the third most heavily weighted stock, surged 4.38 percent to 35.29 yuan.
Oil refining heavyweight Sinopec climbed 2.9 percent to 8.87 yuan, though its Hong Kong-listed H shares were flat in the late afternoon at HK$5.89 after state television said the Ministry of Land and Resources had certified reserves at the company's Puguang gas field at 356 billion cubic metres, well below earlier estimates of around 500 bcm. Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co rose 5.00 percent to 16.38 yuan after saying it plans to raise around 3 billion yuan in a public offer of new shares.
Among losers, Beijing Capital Tourism Co was down 2.39 percent to 22.46 yuan after reporting that 2006 net profit rose 36 percent - a rise that had been expected.
Xugong Science & Technology was down 3.27 percent to 15.38 yuan after saying US investor Carlyle had agreed to lower its proposed stake in Xugong's parent to 45 percent from 50 percent, in an effort to get the purchase past Chinese regulators. A stake below 50 percent could make it more difficult for Carlyle to exercise influence on management and strategy.