Shares close lower amid subdued activity ahead of new IPOs

Stock markets in the Chinese mainland shed gains in morning trading to close down on Wednesday, declining for two consecutive days.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell by 13.10 points or 0.56 percent to 2,326.55 points on Wednesday. The Shenzhen Component Index declined by 43.72 points or 0.54 percent to 8,063.20 points.

Combined turnover on the two bourses on Wednesday was 293.56 billion yuan ($47.97 billion), down from the previous trading day's 305.67 billion yuan.

Turnover remained subdued on Wednesday ahead of the fifth round of IPOs. Nine companies will begin their subscriptions for IPOs on Thursday and Friday, which will lock in about 700 billion yuan.

Media, pharmaceutical, electronics and nonferrous companies lost more than 1.5 percent on average on Wednesday.

Shanghai Xinhua Media Co plunged by 4.84 percent to 10.81 yuan, leading the fall in the media sector that sank 2.68 percent.

Pharmaceutical companies suffered heavy sell-off driven by profit-taking after recent gains propelled by concerns about Ebola.

The sector declined by 1.68 percent. Jiangsu Sihuan Bioengineering Co extended its loss, falling 0.64 percent to 6.20 yuan following a near 10 percent decline on the previous trading day.

Meanwhile, banks, insurers, transportation equipment makers and aerospace companies bucked the trend on Wednesday.

Sichuan Chengfa Aero Science & Technology jumped by 6.96 percent to 25.35 yuan and Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry Co added 4.97 percent to 25.75 yuan on Wednesday.

Shares in banks were lifted backed by the news that the People's Bank of China, the central bank, will issue up to 300 billion yuan to 11 domestic banks via standing lending facility.

ChiNext, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups listed in Shenzhen, shed 12.93 points or 0.85 percent to 1,504.55 points on Wednesday.