Mainland bourses fall back amid start of new IPOs

Mainland exchanges fell on Wednesday after gains in the previous trading session, amid new IPOs.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.40 percent or 12.86 points to 3,222.44 points on Wednesday. The Shenzhen Component Index declined by 1.04 percent or 118.03 points to 11,237.78 points.

The CSI 300 Index of the biggest companies traded on the bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed down 0.33 percent at 3,502.42 points.

Total turnover on the two bourses was 453.15 billion yuan ($73.12 billion), down from Tuesday's 470.25 billion yuan.

Market liquidity was put under pressure as 10 companies began their subscriptions for IPOs on Wednesday.

Coal, nonferrous, oil and steel stocks dragged on the markets on Wednesday. PetroChina fell by 2.84 percent to 11.31 yuan and Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group declined by 6.47 percent to 14.46 yuan.

Meanwhile, banks and brokerages bucked the trend on Wednesday. Bank of China rose by 3.38 percent to 4.59 yuan while other banks gained around 2 percent on average.

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, will extend its 270 billion yuan medium-term lending facility for commercial banks in order to ensure liquidity, media reports said Wednesday.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups, dropped by 0.82 percent or 13.16 points to 1,588.01 points on Wednesday.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell by 0.43 percent to 24,112.60 points, with total turnover of HK$86.08 billion ($10.91 billion).