China shares down on weak non-manufacturing PMI

Chinese shares ended in negative territory Wednesday, as weak data for the non-manufacturing sector discouraged investors.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.61 percent, or 12.29 points, to end at 1,994.27, while the Shenzhen Component Index was down 0.84 percent, or 65.10 points, to 7,703.74.

Total turnover on the two bourses expanded slightly to 178.49 billion yuan (28.88 billion U.S. dollars) from 172.5 billion yuan the previous trading day.

China's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) dropped from 54.3 percent in May to 53.9 percent in June, dragged by slower growth in construction activity.

The cement sector declined following the release of the data, with the sub-index for the sector down 2.58 percent. The Shanghai Zhezhong Construction dropped 6.11 percent to 11.83 yuan per share, marking the worst performance of any company in the sector.

The financial sector also lost ground, with its sub-index dipping 1.94 percent. New China Life Insurance tumbled 5.74 percent to 23.01 yuan per share. Ping An Bank shed 2.81 percent to end at 9.33 yuan per share.

The expressway and bridge construction, non-ferrous metals and property sectors were also among the biggest losers, with their sub-indices down 1.90 percent, 1.44 percent and 1.32 percent, respectively.

Bucking the trend, the ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, closed up 1.97 percent to reach 1,104.58 points, marking a new high for the year.