Chinese benchmark stock index closes higher Monday, hits almost 10-year high

BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares continued their rise on Monday, with the Shanghai Composite Index closing 0.85 percent up at 3,728.03 points, after hitting an intra-day high of 3,745.94 points, its highest level in almost a decade.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.73 percent higher at 11,835.57 points.

The combined turnover of these two indices reached 2.76 trillion yuan (about 387.56 billion U.S. dollars) -- compared with 2.24 trillion yuan registered on the previous trading day.

Shares related to liquid-cooled servers and cinemas led the gains, while stocks in coal mining and processing, as well as precious metals, were among the biggest decliners.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 2.84 percent to close at 2,606.2 points on Monday. ■