BEIJING - Chinese stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 1.76 percent to 3,800.35 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.43 percent lower at 12,295.07 points.

The combined turnover of these two indices stood at 3.17 trillion yuan (about $445 billion) -- up from 2.68 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

During Wednesday's trading, transactions were most robust in the computing power and chip sectors. Computing power hardware stocks remained strong, while chip stocks rose sharply before falling back.

Stocks related to the rare earth and semiconductor sectors led the gains, while those related to real estate, liquor, beauty care and innovative drugs suffered major losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.69 percent to close at 2,723.2 points.