BEIJING - Chinese stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 1.25 percent to 3,765.88 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 2.83 percent lower at 12,118.70 points.

The combined turnover of these two indices stood at 2.54 trillion yuan (about 357 billion U.S. dollars) -- up from 2.36 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Stocks in the food, papermaking and photovoltaic sectors led the gains, while those related to semiconductors and military industry suffered the major losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, fell 4.25 percent to close at 2,776.25 points.