Chinese shares close lower Thursday

Chinese stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.74 percent to 3,919.29 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.6 percent lower at 13,486.94 points.

The combined turnover of these two indices totaled 1.84 trillion yuan (about 267.1 billion U.S. dollars), down from 2.01 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Shares related to oil and gas extraction and services and pharmaceutical business led the gains, while precious metals and communication services stocks suffered major losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 2.31 percent to close at 3,172.65 points.

The STAR Composite Index, which reflects the performance of stocks on China's sci-tech innovation board, closed 2.56 percent lower at 1,631.32 points.

Chinese shares close lower Thursday

Hong Kong's stock market ended lower Thursday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 0.7 percent to close at 25,116.53 points.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.56 percent to end at 8,456.92 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 1.63 percent to end at 4,679.1 points.

Hong Kong stocks close 0.7 pct lower