(File photo: VCG)

BEIJING, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed mixed on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.44 percent to 2,940.95 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.29 percent higher at 9,031.93 points.

The combined turnover of stocks on the two indices stood at 662.3 billion yuan (about 99.1 billion US dollars), down from 891.2 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Gainers outnumbered losers 886 to 518 on the Shanghai bourse and 1,337 to 723 on the Shenzhen bourse.

The financial industry is among the heaviest losers. Everbright Securities slumped 5.57 percent, China Pacific Insurance dropped 2.38 percent and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender, fell 1.03 percent.

The medical equipment sector rebounded after the previous day's loss. Several medical firms surged by the daily limit of 10 percent, including Hunan Chinasun Pharmaceutical Machinery and the Tianjin-based Andon Health.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1 percent to close at 1,535.68 points.