BEIJING, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares closed lower on Monday, despite strong performance in the morning session.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.34 percent lower at 3,177.79. The Shenzhen Component Index fell 0.78 percent to 10,053.76.
Combined turnover of stocks on the two indices stood at 775.8 billion yuan (about 115.6 billion U.S. dollars), expanding from 657.16 billion yuan the previous trading day.
The SSE 50 Index, which tracks 50 stocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange with large market capitalization and high liquidity, went up 0.15 percent.
Losers outnumbered gainers by 1,040 to 419 at the Shanghai bourse and 1,563 to 555 in Shenzhen.
Bucking the trend, diversified financials were relatively strong, with Panda Financial climbing by the 10 percent daily limit to finish at 15.6 yuan per share.
Shares in the breeding industry were among the biggest losers, with the sub-indexes of the sector down 2.54 percent.
The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board, lost 1.7 percent to close at 1,666.9.