Stock exchanges fall back amid uncertainty over new reforms

Stocks in the Chinese mainland retreated on Wednesday, paring the gains of the first two days of the week, as newly revealed economic reform plans left investors unimpressed.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index saw its biggest daily decline in seven weeks, falling 38.83 points or 1.83 percent to close at 2,087.94 points on Wednesday.

The Shenzhen Component Index slid by 168.31 points or 2.03 percent to 8,111.00 points on Wednesday.

Combined turnover on the two bourses on Wednesday was 150.6 billion yuan ($24.72 billion), a slight increase from Tuesday's 145.5 billion yuan.

On Wednesday, stocks in electricity, stock brokerages, insurers, banks and energy led the decline.

Oil, gas and electricity shares decreased, after there was no mention of reform in the sectors in a document published after the conclusion Tuesday of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Chinese banks saw a rise in both the ratio and balance of non-performing loans at the end of September, according to data released Wednesday by the China Banking Regulatory Commission.

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China declined by 2.94 percent to 26.27 yuan and Sealand Securities Co fell 7.99 percent to 9.90 yuan.

Ping An Bank, which added 4.9 percent in the previous trading session, fell by 5.1 percent to 13.33 yuan on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, there were gains for stocks linked to reforms suggested in the Third Plenum communiqué, including land, free trade zones and security. China will set up a national security committee, according to the communiqué.

ChiNext, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups listed in Shenzhen, fell 16.27 points or 1.32 percent to 1,212.08 points at the close Wednesday, its lowest point since the index hit a record high of 1,423.97 points on October 10.