The Chinese mainland's benchmark stock index fell back below 3,000 points on Tuesday, ending a seven-session winning streak.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.64 percent to 2,999.36 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index finished the day down 0.48 percent at 10,344.08 points.

The CSI 300 Index of the biggest companies traded in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 0.73 percent to close at 3,225.79 points.

The ChiNext Index, which tracks the country's NASDAQ-style board for growth enterprises, fell 0.24 percent to 2,221.70 points.

A total of 750 billion yuan ($115.58 billion) in shares changed hands on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, down from the 900 billion yuan in the previous trading day.

Sectors diverged on Tuesday, with shipbuilding and aviation leading the gainers, and insurance and brokerages among the biggest losers.

Although People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan remarked on Sunday that capital outflows from China had eased, some investors remained worried about the problem.

There are two core factors moving the markets now, said Ren Zeping, chief macroeconomic analyst at Guotai Junan Securities. The first is the rise in commodity prices, which has resulted from government policies to stabilize growth, monetary easing measures, the rejuvenated real estate market, expectations for supply-side reform and the weakening of the US dollar.

The second is investors' rising appetite for risk due to the delay of the registration-based IPO system, the shelving of the strategic emerging industries board and the State margin lender's resumption of lending to brokerages, Ren said.

Still, he warned that investors should remain cautious because several long-term problems with China's economy remain unsolved.

Li Daxiao, director of research with Yingda Securities Co, also warned investors to be wary of several types of high-risk stocks, such as junk equities and certain small-cap stocks.