Mumbai, July 28 -- Chinese stock markets ended sharply lower on Tuesday, with the Shanghai Composite falling 1.16% to 3,813.3 and the Shenzhen Component dropping 4.52% to 13,509.7, its lowest closing level since early April.

The decline was driven by a broad selloff in semiconductor stocks as investors grew concerned that heavy spending on artificial intelligence may take longer than expected to deliver meaningful returns, making current valuations appear stretched.

Market sentiment was also affected by recent developments in China's semiconductor industry, which highlighted the country's fast technological progress and the growing competition in the global chip market. Major chip-related stocks such as Cambricon Technologies, Zhongji ...