Chinese shares close higher on Wednesday

BEIJING - Chinese stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 1.44 percent to 2,829.7 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index gained 2.93 percent to close at 8,708.24 points.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by the two indices totaled 1.02 trillion yuan ($143.8 billion), exceeding the threshold of 1 trillion yuan the first time since Nov 21, 2023.

Stocks in the fields of rare earth and semiconductor led the gains, while bucking the upward trend, shares related to new urbanization and real estate sectors suffered losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 2.37 percent to close at 1,707.02 points Wednesday.