Chinese shares closed down 0.28 percent on Wednesday after an overnight fall in Wall Street dampened sentiment in Asian markets, dealers said. The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers A and B shares, was down 8.68 points to 3,080.77 on turnover of 170.7 billion yuan (25.0 billion dollars).
Sentiment was dragged down after the Dow Jones Industrial Average's 1.94 percent fall overnight and declining crude oil prices overnight, traders said. Light, sweet crude for August delivery settled 1.7 percent lower at 62.93 dollar a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
"Expectations for a quick economic recovery were dampened by the continued decline in oil prices and rising risk appetite among global investors," Jacky Zhang, an analyst at Capital Securities, told Dow Jones Newswires. Investors also chose to stay on the sidelines to see whether Beijing is fine-tuning its monetary policy, traders said.
China's banking regulator asked banks to arrange more syndicated loans for government-backed projects, to reduce the credit risk arising from recent sharp rises in lending, it said in a statement. Banks were among the biggest decliners. China Merchants Bank fell 1.9 percent to 18.28 yuan, and Bank of China was down 2.0 percent at 4.52 yuan. Energy companies also fell on lower oil prices. PetroChina shed 1.6 percent to 14.59 yuan, and China Petroleum and Chemical fell 1.7 percent to 11.60 yuan.
The Shanghai A-share index shed 9.15 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,234.14 on turnover of 170.2 billion yuan, while the Shenzhen A-share index rose 12.72 points, or 1.20 percent, to 1071.63 on turnover of 81.2 billion yuan. The Shanghai B-share index was up 0.07 points, or 0.03 percent, to 196.60, while the Shenzhen B-share index gained 8.78 points, or 1.71 percent, to close at 503.92.
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