Chinese shares close lower Thursday

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 1.39 percent to 4,006.55 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 2.02 percent lower at 13,901.57 points.

The combined turnover of these two indices totaled 2.11 trillion yuan (about 305.9 billion U.S. dollars), up from 2.05 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Shares in utilities, coal, electricity and petrochemicals led the gains, while precious metals, energy metals and rare earths stocks suffered steep losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 1.11 percent to close at 3,309.1 points on Thursday.

The STAR Composite Index, which reflects the performance of stocks on China's sci-tech innovation board, closed 2.3 percent lower at 1,689.34 points. ■