China shares end lower as losses in tech stocks offset auto gains Reuters 2/3/2021 * China reports fewest daily new COVID-19 cases in more than a month BEIJING, Feb 3 (Reuters) - China shares ended lower on Wednesday, as profit-taking in tech stocks with high valuations outweighed gains in automakers on expectations of strong sales growth this year. ** At the close, the Shanghai Composite index fell 0.46% to 3,517.31 and the blue-chip CSI300 index shed 0.29%. ** The CSI300 IT index lost 3.4%, while the STAR50 index tracking Shanghai's tech-focused STAR Board, fell 1.9%. ** The auto sector sub-index surged 5.4%, the consumer staples sector was up 1.1%, while the healthcare sub-index gained 0.9%. ** Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd reported a growth of 87.2% in its January vehicle sales from a year ago, while the country's industry association forecast a 4% rise in total annual vehicle sales for 2021 at 26.3 million units.