BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Major Chinese stock indices ended mixed Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.81 percent to 2,908.77 points.

(File photo: VCG)

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.63 percent lower at 9,268.05 points.

The combined turnover of stocks on the two exchanges stood at 374 billion yuan (about 54.25 billion U.S. dollars), expanding from 357.61 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 1,005 to 376 on the Shanghai bourse and 1,329 to 727 in Shenzhen.                  

Stocks in the agriculture and breeding industry led the gains, with shares of Wens Foodstuff Group Co., Ltd. climbing 3.73 percent to 41.98 yuan apiece.

Shares related to gold and fuel ethanol led the losses.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 0.22 percent to close at 1,573.87 points.