Chinese equities closed down 2.83 percent on Tuesday, with shares dropping in most sectors.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 88.11 points, or 2.83percent, to end at 3,021.46.

The Shenzhen Component Index dropped 402.81 points, or 3.14 percent, to close at 12,412.45.

Combined turnover rose slightly to 229.11 billion yuan (33.54 billion U.S. dollars) from 218.72 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 764 to 113 in Shanghai and 668 to 103 in Shenzhen.

The coal mining sector led the fall, dropping 4.09 percent. China Shenhua, the nation's largest coal producer, dipped 4.61 percent to 34.79 yuan.

Non-ferrous metal stocks fell 3.71 percent on falling gold prices. Shares of the Zhongjin Gold Corp. shed 3.82 percent to hit 56.91 yuan. The Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (Chalco) lost 4.44 percent to fall to14.41 yuan.

The banking sector fell 2.31 percent, as shares of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the nation's largest lender, lost 2.49 percent to 5.09 yuan. Bank of China ended at 4.02 yuan, down 2.90 percent.

Among the heavy weights, PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer, declined 2.55 percent to 13.37 yuan. Sinopec, Asia's top oil refiner, dropped 3.8 percent to 11.65 yuan.

The real estate sector lost 2.09 percent. China Vanke, the country's largest property developer by market value, dipped by 3.93 percent to 11.98 yuan. The company said Sunday that its net profits rose 29.9 percent year on year to 2.96 billion yuan in the first three quarters.

However, shares of the Neptunus Bioengineering continued rising, up 9.24 percent, following Monday's declaration by U.S. President Barack Obama that the H1N1 outbreak was a national emergency.