China shares close mixed after PBOC statement

Chinese shares closed mixed on Wednesday after the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, said Tuesday evening that it has boosted liquidity support for some cautious financial institutions.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.41 percent, or 8.01 points, to end at 1,951.49. The Shenzhen Component Index increased 0.95 percent, or 71.30 points, to 7,566.40.

Total turnover on the two bourses narrowed to 182.09 billion yuan (29.47 billion U.S. dollars) from 214.3 billion yuan the previous trading day.

China's key stock index sank 5.3 percent on Monday, the biggest daily loss in nearly four years, amid liquidity concerns that crept up after the country's short-term interbank rates rocketed to unusually high levels during the past two weeks.

As a swift follow-up to Monday's statement, in which the PBOC asked the country's overextended lenders to manage liquidity risks, the bank said Tuesday evening that it has boosted liquidity support for some cautious financial institutions.

After the statement was issued, the financial sector continued to ease from drastic losses on Monday, shedding 0.05 percent overall at Wednesday's close.

Ping An Bank and China Minsheng Bank, which were among the worst hit in Monday's trading, ended down 2.20 percent and 1.66 percent, respectively.

Bucking the trend, the ChiNext Index, an index tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, strengthened Tuesday's rising streak by jumping 5.51 percent to 1,038.98.

Analysts said these enterprises with high-growth potential, which are often less susceptible to the impacts of economic cycles and mostly found in emerging industries, have become more attractive amid China's economic restructuring.

The IT sector led Wednesday's gainers by rising 5.26 percent, with more than 10 stocks surging by the daily cap of 10 percent.

The environmental protection and media and entertainment sectors also increased more than 5 percent.