BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares ended lower on Monday, with gains led by chemical and liquor makers.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened 0.76 percent higher but pared early gains to end 0.05 percent lower at 3,244.81. The Shenzhen Component Index was down 0.61 percent to 10,351.87.
The combined turnover of stocks on the two indices continued to break the 1-trillion-yuan level to stand at 1.067 trillion yuan (about 158.8 billion U.S. dollars), expanding slightly from 1.005 trillion yuan the previous trading day.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 875 to 551 at the Shanghai bourse and 1,385 to 716 in Shenzhen.
Bucking the downward trend, chemical stocks gained, following media reports about a planned chemical industry overhaul in Jiangsu Province after a deadly blast killed 78 people in Xiangshui County last month.
Shares of Jiangsu Huifeng Bio Agriculture Co. Ltd and Danhua Chemical Technology both rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 3.7 yuan and 5.24 yuan respectively.
Shares of liquor makers also demonstrated strong performance, led by China's leading liquor brand Kweichow Moutai, which saw its share price surge 4.07 percent to a record high of 900.2 yuan.
Airline stocks were the largest losers, with the sector's sub-index down 4.83 percent. Air China fell 6.56 percent to 11.11 yuan. Juneyao Airlines Co. Ltd, plunged 7.75 percent to end at 15.59 yuan per share.
The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, lost 2.12 percent to close at 1,739.66 points Monday.
