Chinese shares fall further, key index hits over-two-year low

BEIJING -- Chinese shares fell further Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index posting its lowest closing in more than two years.

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.1 percent to end at 2,813.18 points, the lowest closing since mid-March of 2016. The Shenzhen Component Index shed 1.83 percent to close at 9,168.66 points.

Combined turnover stood at 326.2 billion yuan ($49.7 billion), slightly up from 325.8 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Most shares declined, with losers outnumbering gainers by 862 to 411 at the Shanghai bourse and 1,263 to 606 at Shenzhen.

Shares of air transport, food and beverage producers, as well as medicine and biological products led the declines, with the sub-indicies down 3.32 percent, 3.23 percent and 2.58 percent, respectively.

Air China tumbled 4.08 percent to 8.93 yuan, while China Southern Airlines was down 3.64 percent to 8.46 yuan.

Kweichow Moutai, a large-cap liquor producer, saw its shares tumble 4.29 percent to 722.44 yuan per share.

Bucking the downward trend, shares of rare earth miners and producers surged. Innuovo Technology Co. rose by the daily 10-percent limit to 4.68 yuan per share. China Minmetals Rare Earth Co. surged 4.86 percent to 11.64 yuan.