Mainland exchanges decline after holidays

Mainland stock exchanges began the first trading day of the Chinese New Year on a negative note, ending a seven-day bull run.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.56 percent or 18.06 points to 3,228.84 points on Wednesday, the first trading day after the weeklong Spring Festival holidays.

The Shenzhen Component Index fell by 1.53 percent or 178.86 points to 11,539.70 points.

The CSI 300 Index of the biggest companies traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen dropped by 1.24 percent or 43.59 points to 3,478.73.

Total turnover on the two bourses was 517.81 billion yuan ($82.70 billion), up from the previous trading day's 513 billion yuan.

Analysts said that investors had shrugged off the encouraging industrial activity data on Wednesday morning and sold on disappointment that the central bank had not further eased interest rates over the holiday break.

The financial sector led Wednesday's fall with a 2.55 percent decrease, followed by the ceramic products sector and electronic devices sector.

"Financial reports showed that many lenders, including China Minsheng Bank and China Merchants Bank, faced low profit rates and high non-performing loan ratios in the fourth quarter last year," said Chen Wei, an analyst with CITIC Securities.

ChiNext, the country's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and emerging start-ups, declined by 0.93 percent or 17.56 points to 1,876.75 points on Wednesday.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose by 0.11 percent to 24,778.28 points, with total turnover of HK$71.38 billion ($9.2 billion).