Chinese stocks closed mixed Thursday after a two-day market correction. But trading has continued to shrink, while banks and securities companies dragged down the Shanghai market.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went down 0.1 percent to 3,399.25 points. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.66 percent higher at 11,537.96 points.

Combined turnover of the two boards fell to 490.8 billion yuan (74.04 billion U.S. dollars) from 524.4 billion yuan the previous trading day.

The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 0.54 percent to close at 1,878.26 points.

Thursday's trend was partly a result of the mixed performance of financial heavyweights on the market, with banks and securities firms going down while insurers remained strong.

Bank of Shanghai slumped by the daily limit of 10 percent to 15.41 yuan. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender by market value, lost 1.02 percent to 5.85 yuan.

However, the insurance sector was particularly strong as Chinese insurers reported substantial rises in premiums.

Ping An Insurance, one of the leading insurers, said the company received 512 billion yuan in premiums in the first 10 months of this year, up more than 30 percent year on year. The company's shares jumped 5.51 percent to 73.01 yuan on Thursday.

Liquor makers were also among the strongest sectors on Thursday. Kweichow Moutai, China's top liquor brand, rose 4.51 percent to 719.11 yuan per share, a historic new high. Jiugui Liquor surged 7.83 percent to 31.66 yuan.