File photo: VCG

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 1.59 percent to 2,827.28 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 2.47 percent higher at 10,475.7 points.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by the two indices stood at 589.3 billion yuan (about 83.7 billion U.S. dollars), expanding from 499 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Gainers outnumbered losers by 1,319 to 152 on the Shanghai bourse and 1,913 to 243 in Shenzhen.

Stocks in the pharmaceuticals, new energy vehicle and agricultural sectors led the rally, with Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical Co.,Ltd. seeing its shares rising by the daily limit of 10 percent to 31.32 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 3.24 percent to close at 1,985.43 points.