BEIJING - Chinese stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.46 percent to 3,666.44 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.87 percent lower at 11,451.43 points.

The combined turnover of these two indices stood at 2.28 trillion yuan (about $319.6 billion), up from 2.15 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Financial shares led the gains, while stocks related to textile machinery and ceramics suffered major losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 1.08 percent to close at 2,469.66 points on Thursday.