BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- China's major stock indices closed lower on Thursday, dragged down by weak performances of liquor and insurance heavyweights.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.53 percent to close at 3,263.48, while the smaller Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.94 percent lower at 10,877.25.
Combined turnover on the two bourses stood at 423.8 billion yuan (67.1 billion U.S. dollars), shrinking from 481.5 billion yuan the previous trading day.
Shares in liquor and insurance sectors led the losses.
Sichuan Swellfun and Luzhou Laojiao saw their share prices down 4.8 and 4.09 percent, respectively.
Bucking the trend, retail-related shares gained, with Beijing Hualian Department Store and Chengdu Hongqi Chain rising 7.38 percent and 6.16 percent, respectively.
The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.69 percent to close at 1,817.23 points on Thursday.
