China's stocks fell for a second day, led by automakers and financial companies.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of China's exchanges, fell 40.79, or 1.5 percent, to 2,610.62 at close. The CSI 300 Index, measuring exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, slid 2.2 percent to 2,750.01.

"Stocks are expensive now and have reached a level investors deem too high to be pushed up further," said Zhang Ling, a fund manager at ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Co in Beijing. "Corporate earnings have yet to catch up."