Chinese shares close lower on Tuesday

BEIJING -- Chinese stocks closed lower on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 2.49 percent to 3,381.18 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 3.67 percent lower at 14,093.64 points.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by the two indices came in at 1.53 trillion yuan (about $236.35 billion), up from 1.42 trillion yuan on the previous trading day.

Shares related to the lithium battery sector led the losses, and those of liquor makers also fell.

Bucking the downward trend, shares in the semiconductor, chip and integrated circuit sectors saw gains. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, China's top home-grown chipmaker, saw its share prices rise 12.59 percent to 64.4 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, fell 4.11 percent to close at 3,232.84 points.