BEIJING - Chinese stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 1.13 percent to 3,956.57 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.5 percent higher at 14,048.88 points.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by these two indices stood at around 2.13 trillion yuan (about $314 billion), up from 1.81 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Electronic chemicals, semiconductor and rare earth stocks led the gains, while sectors including housing construction, hotels and catering and banking were among the biggest decliners.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.71 percent to close at 3,473.35 points Thursday.

The STAR Composite Index, which reflects the performance of stocks on China's sci-tech innovation board, closed 3.6 percent higher at 1,973.98 points.