Chinese shares close higher Tuesday

BEIJING -- Chinese shares closed higher on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.23 percent, or 4.87 points, to end at 2,106.16.

The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.07 percent, or 5.92 points, to finish at 8,362.65.

Combined turnover on the two bourses shrank to 203.2 billion yuan ($32.9 billion) from 243.11 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Tuesday's gains were mainly led by the cement sector, whose sub-index jumped 2.63 percent on the back of market sentiment that local infrastructure construction will speed up amid upbeat macro-economic data.

Xinjiang Qingsong Building Materials and Chemicals (Group) Co Ltd, a company based in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, surged by the daily 10-percent limit to 4.06 yuan per share.

Companies related to information technology were also lifted as the 2013 China Internet Conference convened in Beijing. Counters of electronic devices and electronic information edged up 1.43 percent and 1.40 percent, respectively, while the media and entertainment sector added 1.38 percent.

Bucking the trend, the coal industry, which skyrocketed 8.1 percent on Monday, adjusted itself by falling back 0.62 percent at Tuesday's closing.