BEIJING, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- China's major stock indices rose for a ninth consecutive trading day Wednesday, led by strong performance in the natural gas sector.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index posted a V-shape performance during trading and rose 0.23 percent to end at 3,421.83. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.09 percent lower at 11,437.08.

Combined turnover on the two bourses stood at 516.35 billion (79.2 billion U.S. dollars), up from 482.5 billion yuan the previous trading day.

The natural gas sector was among the biggest winners as foreign media reports showed that China had become world's second largest liquefied natural gas importer.

Shares of Guizhou Gas Group Corporation Ltd. and Changchun Gas Co., Ltd. both rose by 10 percent.

The blockchain sector was boosted by news that Chinese tech giant Qihoo360 Technology announced Tuesday plans to roll out a block-chain based open clouding platform.

The real estate sector also continued to rally as recently released sales data for 2017 boosted investor confidence.

Thirty-one listed property developers have disclosed their sales performance in 2017, with total sales volume reaching about 3.38 trillion yuan (518.3 billion U.S. dollars), up 54 percent year on year, according to the research center under Centaline Property.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board, lost 0.69 percent to close at 1,791.08.