Chinese shares ended mixed Wednesday, with divergent performance among financial and technology firms.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed marginally lower at 3,246.45 points. The Shenzhen Component Index was up 0.39 percent to end at 10,600.78 points.

Trading remained subdued, with combined turnover of the two bourses reaching 491.1 billion yuan (73.5 billion U.S. dollars).

Financial firms were among the losers. The banking sector slid after data showed July's new yuan-denominated loans fell to the lowest level in eight months as the government continued property purchase curbs that have cooled mortgage lending and its campaign to deleverage and defuse financial risk.

Bank of China dipped 0.25 percent to 4.03 yuan. Bank of Communications dropped 0.8 percent to 6.23 yuan.

IT and other technology firms led the gains. Boomsense Technology surged by the daily 10-percent limit to 11.4 yuan. Iflytek Co., a tech firm that develops artificial intelligence in speech and language, jumped 5.81 percent to 58.09 yuan. Hangzhou Freely Communication surged by the daily limit of 10 percent to 32.02 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style enterprises, rose 1.5 percent to 1,825.19 points.

The shale gas-related sector rose on news that China's shale gas output surged 76.3 percent to 7.9 billion cubic meters in 2016, making the country the world's third-largest shale gas supplier after the United States and Canada.

Sino Geophysical Co. Ltd. gained 1.1 percent to 23.73 yuan. Shares of China Oil HBP Science & Technology Co. added 0.35 percent to 5.72 yuan.