BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.51 percent, at 3,463.07 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.12 percent higher at 13,963.92 points.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by the two indices stood at 736.7 billion yuan (about 113.58 billion U.S. dollars), up from 710.8 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Shares related to aesthetic medicine and paper making saw strong performances, while those related to genetic modification and farming led the losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.65 percent to close at 2,748.73 points.