BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed lower on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.85 percent to 4,049.91 points.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.87 percent lower at 14,039.73 points.
The combined turnover of these two indices totaled 2.21 trillion yuan (about 320.47 billion U.S. dollars), down from 2.33 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.
Shares in the insurance and banking sectors led the gains, while stocks in the computing power hardware and semiconductor sectors suffered major losses.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 2.29 percent on Tuesday to close at 3,280.06 points.
The STAR Composite Index, which reflects the performance of stocks on China's sci-tech innovation board, closed 2.47 percent lower at 1,699.05 points on Tuesday. ■
