China stocks close lower after cooling data

Chinese shares closed lower on Thursday after the release of data showing a slowing economic growth.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went down 0.36 percent to finish at 2,485.61 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed at 8,305.08 points, down 1.25 percent.

Total turnover on the two bourses expanded to 456.70 billion yuan (74.35 billion U.S. dollars) from 379.48 billion yuan the previous trading day.

China's urban fixed asset investment rose 15.9 percent year on year in the first 10 months, down from the 16.1-percent pace in the January-September period and 20.1-percent rise posted in the same 10 months last year.

The industrial output grew 7.7 percent year on year in October, slowing from an 8-percent increase in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The country's retail sales in October grew 11.5 percent from a year ago, with growth slowing for five straight months.

China stocks stood above the 2,500-point mark in morning trade, but fell later in response to data indicating cooling, finishing below the mark.

Shares related aircraft manufacturing and shipbuilding were big losers, with the sub-indices tracking the two sectors dropping 4.35 and 3.63 percent respectively.

Bucking the trend, steelmakers performed well as latest industry data showed that China's steel exports are expected to hit a record high of over 80 million tonnes this year.

Shandong Iron and Steel Company and Inner Mongolia BaoTou Steel Union both shot up by the daily trading cap of ten percent.

The ChiNext Index, a NASDAQ-style board tracking growth enterprises, lost 2.23 percent to close at 1,442.86 points on Thursday.