Chinese stocks closed lower Thursday, with the aircraft manufacturing industry leading the decline.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.06 percent to close at 2,729.24. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.17 percent lower to end at 8,233.89.

Combined turnover on the two bourses stood at 250.41 billion yuan (about 37 billion U.S. dollars), down from 319.86 billion yuan the previous trading day.

The aircraft manufacturing sector fell the most, with the sub-index down 1.44 percent. Water and gas supply, and furniture sectors also suffered, with the sub-indices down 0.96 percent and 0.75 percent, respectively.

Bucking the downward trend, shares of international trade and non-ferrous metal rallied. The Ningxia-based Orient Tantalum Industry Co. Ltd. soared 10.03 percent to close at 6.91 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board, lost 0.34 percent to close at 1,387.62.