Chinese shares end higher Thursday

BEIJING - Major Chinese stock indices ended higher Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 1.15 percent at 3,085.2 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.99 percent higher at 10,638.82 points.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by the two indices stood at 751.5 billion yuan ($108 billion), expanding from 532.65 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Gainers outnumbered losers 1,340 to 123 on the Shanghai bourse and 1,984 to 151 in Shenzhen.

Stocks in the software and information technology services led the gains, with shares of the software developer Shanghai Wondertek Software Co Ltd surging by the daily limit of 10 percent to 18.67 yuan.

Communication services companies also notched solid gains, as shares of the country's telecom giant China United Network Communications Limited edged up 2.55 percent to 6.04 yuan apiece.

Bucking the upward trend, shares in the food and beverages sector led the losses, with the household liquor maker Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd falling 4.48 percent to 1,130 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.93 percent to close at 1,832.74 points.