BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 1.04 percent to end at 2,901.18 points.

(File photo: VCG)

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.58 percent lower at 9,154.65 points.

The combined turnover on the two indices stood at 363.06 billion yuan (about 52.8 billion U.S. dollars), shrinking from 381.52 billion yuan in the previous trading day.

Most stocks fell, with losers outnumbering gainers by 1,293 to 158 on the Shanghai bourse and 1,876 to 247 in Shenzhen.

Companies in the oil industry were among the biggest gainers, with Sino Geophysical Co., Ltd. seeing its share price rise by the daily 10-percent limit to 22.65 yuan.

Shares related to the electronic information industry led the losses, with shares of Inspur Electronic Information Industry Co., Ltd. dropping by the daily 10-percent limit to 21.38 yuan apiece.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, lost 1.66 percent to close at 1,524.48 points.