BEIJING, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares fell 1.69 percent in low turnover on Wednesday as investor confidence was dampened by a series of economic figures released late in the afternoon.

    The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index shed 56.75 points to 3,291.6, while the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 333.52 points, or 2.69 percent, to 12,057.28.

    Shares turned lower after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released economic growth, inflation and other first-quarter figures in the final 30 minutes of trading.

    Economic growth slowed by 1.1 percentage points to 10.6 percent in the first quarter from the same period last year, while the consumer price index remained at a high level of 8 percent, according to the NBS.

    Analysts said the data increased worries about a slowing economy with high inflationary pressure and exacerbated investor fears of further tightening measures.

    The People's Bank of China, the central bank, said on Wednesday that it would raise the reserve requirement ratio of commercial banks by 50 basis points to a record high of 16 percent, effective April 25. It was the third such move this year to curb excess liquidity and ease inflation.

    Although prices sagged, there was no panic selling and confidence would return as many investors recognized the value of shares at current levels, according to GF Securities.

    Losers outnumbered gainers by 681 to 109 in Shanghai and by 504 to 113 in Shenzhen. Aggregate turnover contracted to 79.2 billion yuan (about 11.3 billion U.S. dollars) from 88.7 billion yuan on Tuesday.

    Real estate and steel sectors led the slump, with China Vanke losing 4.7 percent to 21.11 yuan and Baosteel, China's largest iron and steel maker, sliding 5.22 percent to 10.72 yuan.

    Coal and communication-related shares gained momentum. China's largest coal producer, China Shenhua Energy, added 2.94 percent to 45.19 yuan. Mobile giant China Unicom climbed 1.59 percent to 8.31yuan.

    PetroChina, the most heavily weighted stock in the Shanghai index, shed 0.41 percent to 16.99 yuan. China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) rose 0.45 percent to 11.05 yuan.

    The country's largest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, was 1.37 percent lower at 5.78 yuan.