BEIJING - Chinese stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.31 percent, at 3,466.55 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.79 percent lower at 14,872.23 points.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by the two indices stood at 1.29 trillion yuan (about US$200 billion), largely flat with the previous trading day.

Stocks related to military defense and property management showed strong performance, while those in chemicals led the losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.86 percent to close at 3,532.50 points Thursday.