China shares suffer biggest loss in a month

China shares suffered their biggest daily loss in a month on Wednesday, led by the non-banking financial sector as investors took profits on recent outperformers before the end of an annual economic planning meeting.

A Chinese investor looks at prices of shares (red for price rising and green for price falling) at a stock brokerage house in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Dec 11, 2013. [Photo/icpress]

While 2014 economic targets decided at the meeting, which started on Tuesday, are usually only announced in March, investors expect a communiqué at the end of the meeting to signal Beijing's reform priorities for the new year.

The CSI300 of the leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listings ended down 1.7 percent at 2,412.8 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index sank 1.5 percent. This was their respective biggest daily loss since Nov. 13 as Shanghai volume stayed under its 20-day moving average for a third-straight session.

Coal producers again sank, while clean energy counters rose after the National Development and Reform Commission listed its key energy conservation initiatives for 2014, which include reducing coal consumption and formulating a program to control its usage, according to the Securities Times.

Chinese banking counters were put on the defensive after five Chinese banks sold 19 billion yuan ($3 billion) of negotiable certificates of deposits (NCDs) on Thursday, the official Shanghai Clearing House announced on its website.