Chinese shares continue to fall despite government action

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Mainland Chinese shares on Wednesday fell again, extending losses from the previous day, despite recent government attempts to stabilise markets.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite index fell by 0.7% to 3,668.12 as investor confidence failed to pick up.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index followed the mainland lead and traded 0.6% lower at 24,377.05 .

Sentiment was also hit by a weak showing from Wall Street on Wednesday.

US shares were hit by poor results from a number of media companies, including Disney and Time Warner.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed 1.1% down at 5,610.10 points.

The main market news was the plan from ANZ bank for a A$3bn ($2.2bn; £1.41bn) share sale to boost its capital ratios in the wake of tougher regulatory requirements.

ANZ shares are currently suspended and trading is expected to restart on Friday.

In South Korea, the benchmark Kospi ended the day down 0.8% at 2,013.29.

Japan bucked the region's trend, with the Nikkei 225 finishing up 0.2% at 20,664.44.

Shares of NTT rose by more than 4% after the telecoms company reported strong earnings and announced a plan to buy back about 1% of its shares.