Chinese shares closed slightly higher Monday after the central bank's Saturday move to ease the short-term credit crunch.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 6.42 points, or 0.27 percent, to finish at 2,363.6. The Shenzhen Component Index edged up 0.01 percent, or 1.31 points, to end at 9,616.65.

Combined turnover of the two bourses rose to 160.44 billion yuan (25.49 billion U.S. dollars).

Losers outnumbered gainers 458 to 402 in Shanghai, while gainers beat losers 725 to 582 in Shenzhen.

The central bank announced Saturday its lowering of banks' reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points to 20.5 percent for large commercial banks and 17 percent for mid- and small-sized banks.

The move will become effective on Feb. 24 and release an estimated 400 billion yuan (63.54 billion U.S. dollars) in capital into the market.

The stock market opened sharply higher Monday on the news, but gradually gave up gains to end the day with a mild climb.

Cement shares strengthened, with the sector's sub-index up 1.2 percent. Xishui Strong Year Co. Ltd, a cement and clinker manufacturer, rose 3.99 percent to 6.56 yuan per share.

Property shares showed strong performances in early trading but narrowed profits later. Wolong Real Estate Group Co. Ltd surged 9.86 percent to 4.57 yuan per share, while Vanke, the country's largest developer by market value, edged up 0.51 percent to 7.83 yuan.

Zhejiang Supor Co., a renowned kitchenware maker, resumed trading on Monday after a suspension last Friday on reports that 81 of its products contained excessive manganese.

The company's share shed 2.24 percent to close the day at 15.3 yuan.

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