APRIL 28, 2009, 3:25 A.M. ET

SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--Lingering concerns over the health of the Chinese economy and the economic impact of the swine flu outbreak prompted China shares to end lower for the third consecutive session.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks both A and B shares, ended down 0.2% at 2401.44.

The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.4% to 798.30.

Analysts said they expect the Shanghai index to test psychological support at 2350 Wednesday as investors remain divided over the outlook for the Chinese economy.

"Some institutional investors have begun pulling out part of their investments as uncertainties over whether the Chinese economy has bottomed are still over hanging," said Huatai Securities analyst Chen Jinren.

Concerns that new yuan loans may fall sharply from March also weighed on sentiment, as stock prices may drop if there is less liquidity in the markets, said Guosen Securities analyst Wang Junqing.

Latest data from the People's Bank of China showed new yuan loans surged beyond the CNY1 trillion mark for the third straight month to CNY1.89 trillion in March, surpassing the previous record of CNY1.62 trillion set in January and February's CNY1.07 trillion.

Beijing is targeting new-yuan-loan growth of at least CNY5 trillion in 2009 and new yuan loans in the first quarter have already hit 92% of the official minimum target for this year.

The swine flu outbreak also weighed on the market, as airlines extended losses.

The number of "probable" deaths from swine flu in Mexico rose to 152 from 149, Mexico's health minister said late Monday. The virus has sickened victims from the U.S. to New Zealand, with the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the U.S. more than doubling on Monday to 44.

"Domestic carriers are expected to be severely hit by the recent swine flu," said China Merchants Securities analyst Yao Jun.

China Southern Airlines ended down 6.2% at CNY5.31, China Eastern Airlines ended limit-down at CNY4.55, while Shanghai Airlines dropped 4.8% to CNY4.59.