CHINA’S shares fell Friday, with the benchmark index posting longest losing streak in almost two decades, as targeted fund injections by the central bank failed to alleviate the worst cash crunch since June.

    The People’s Bank of China injected cash to ease borrowing costs that had risen to their highest since the summer cash crunch, it said late Thursday. The seven-day weighted average repo rate, a benchmark for money market rates, was last at 7.75 percent Friday, up from 7.06 percent Thursday and at its highest since the June cash crunch.

    But the market viewed the central bank’s liquidity intervention as inadequate and is hoping for more.

    “This reflects the tight liquidity environment and signals to the central bank that yesterday’s capital injection wasn’t enough. It should inject more today, too,” Hong- yuan Securities analyst Tang Yonggang said Friday.

    “Investors are still expecting liquidity to be tight. They know that the central bank is taking a strict stance on giving the market too much cash given that bank borrowing is too high,” Nanjing Securities analyst Zhou Xu said. However, “the market is also expecting the central bank to step in further as it said it would continue to offer liquidity support if necessary,” Zhou added.

    The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended down 2.02 percent, or 43.0 points, at 2,084.79 — its lowest since Aug. 23 when it closed at 2,057.46. It is the ninth straight session of losses. The Shenzhen Composite Index fell 1.31 percent, or 13.66 points, to 1,026.24. (SD-Agencies)