Chinese stock market

Chinese shares ended Wednesday's trading lower, led by the materials and health care sectors, as investors were concerned about overvalued securities and the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting results.

The Shanghai Composite index fell 1.07 per cent to 3,518.33 points, while the CSI300 blue-chip index fell 1.67 per cent to 5,080.49 points.

Analysts say the overvaluation of stocks in some segments has made market players uneasy.

"Investors are also nervous ahead of the US Fed meeting as the Fed's hawkish sentiment will push the dollar higher, putting pressure on the yuan and the A-share market, causing an outflow of foreign investment", said an analyst at China Fortune Securities.

The consumer goods sector lost 1.23 per cent and the health sector lost 3.01 per cent. The financial sector sub-index rose 0.16 per cent and the real estate index rose 1.06 per cent.

The ChiNext Composite start-up index fell 4.18%.

Pengqi Technology Development Co, Henan Huanghe Whirlwind Co and Chongqing Taiji Industry Group Co were the fallers.

Hong Kong indices were also down by the close, with Hang Seng down 0.7 per cent to 28,436.84 points and China Enterprises down 0.99 per cent to 10,562.97 points.