BEIJING, July 3 -- Chinese stocks opened sharply lower on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 3.04 percent to open at 3,793.71.

The Shenzhen Component Index opened at 12,475.61 points, down 3.47 percent.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, opened 3.41 percent lower at 2,559.03 points.