Chinese shares close lower Monday

BEIJING, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed lower on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.59 percent to 3,882.01 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 2.13 percent lower at 13,794.29 points.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by these two indices stood at around 2.01 trillion yuan (about 296.28 billion U.S. dollars), up from 1.88 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Sectors such as precious metals, coal mining and processing, and insurance led the gains, while biologics and biological vaccines stocks were among the top decliners.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 3.21 percent to close at 3,431.89 points on Monday.

The STAR Composite Index, which reflects the performance of stocks on China's sci-tech innovation board, closed 3.10 percent lower on Monday at 1,896.16 points. Enditem