BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed lower on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.72 percent to 3,245.31 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.77 percent lower at 11,416.57 points.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by the two indices stood at 930.4 billion yuan (about 135 billion U.S. dollars), up from 839.36 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Stocks related to the shipbuilding sector, electron devices, and agriculture led the gains, while those related to petroleum, home appliances and power equipment suffered the biggest losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.59 percent to close at 2,343.11 points on Tuesday.