Chinese shares end lower on Wednesday

Stock indexes ended lower on Wednesday, led by a drop in the price of shares in the rare earth industry and agriculture.

The Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.50 percent at 2,939.32 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.66 percent lower at 9,681.54 points while the ChiNext ebbed 0.15 percent.

The combined trading volume of stocks in the two main indexes was 467.3 billion yuan (US$66.7 billion), compared with 539.0 billion yuan the previous trading day.

China Minmetals Rare Earth Co fell 4.43 percent to close at 12.22 yuan while China Northern Rare Earth (Group) High-tech closed down 1.94 percent to 9.96 yuan

Blockchain and semiconductor shares surged on Wednesday.

Naura Technology Group Co, one of China’s major semiconductor equipment vendors, jumped 3.01 percent to 68.69 yuan.

China's announcement of a fund to support the integrated circuit industry has boosted share prices in related firms, from equipment, materials and design, to manufacturing and assembly and testing.