Chinese shares close lower Thursday

Chinese shares closed lower on Thursday, led by slumps in financial and property stocks.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index decreased 1.05 percent, or 21.53 points, to end at 2,023.40. The Shenzhen Component Index lost 1.98 percent, or 159.53 points, to 7,904.27.

Combined turnover on the two bourses shrank to 178.8 billion yuan (28.98 billion U.S. dollars) from 202.47 billion yuan the previous trading day.

The financial sector dropped 1.87 percent. Shares of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nation's biggest listed lender, slipped 0.51 percent to 3.93 yuan per share. Shares of China Construction Bank Corp., another banking heavyweight, shrank 0.69 percent to 4.34 yuan per share.

The property sector slumped 1.28 percent. Shares of China Vanke Co., the nation's biggest listed property developer, sunk 2.60 percent to 10.12 yuan per share. Shares of Poly Real Estate Group Co., another major property company, shed 2.09 percent to 10.78 yuan per share.

Among a statistical pool of 70 major Chinese cities, 63 saw month-on-month housing price rises, but the number was down from 65 cities that reported higher prices in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said.