BEIJING/SHANGHAI: China shares closed lower on Wednesday as losses in real estate and materials stocks outweighed optimism from upbeat factory activity surveys, with the markets recording their worst monthly loss since May 2019.

The Shanghai Composite index ended down 0.2% at 3,218.05 and the blue-chip CSI300 index 0.1%. For the month, the Shanghai Composite index lost 5.23% and the CSI300 index 4.75%.

Markets fell in September mainly due to worries over ongoing Sino-US tensions and fluctuations in overseas markets on concerns about a second wave of coronavirus outbreak.

Shanghai shares of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, China’s largest chipmaker, slid by 25% during the month amid the newly imposed export restrictions by the United States, citing a risk of military use.

China’s markets will be closed for the national holiday from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8. The start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.44% and Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR50 index was up 2.07%.—Reuters