1st LD-Writethru: Chinese shares weaken Thursday

China's benchmark share index edged down on Thursday, with investors awaiting a slew of Chinese economic data to be published next week.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.38 percent to 3,008.42 points. The smaller Shenzhen index edged down 1.68 percent to end at 10,504.88 points.

The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, lost 2.11 percent to close at 2,248.68 points.

Investors were cautious as they hope for evidence of a stabilizing economy. The data to be released next week includes economic growth in the first quarter, inflation and foreign trade. Many analysts expect the latter figure to show a return to growth for the first time in nine months in March.

Total turnover on the two bourses shrank to 698.56 billion yuan (107.96 billion U.S. dollars), down from 701.4 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 826 to 145 in Shanghai and 1,238 to 278 in Shenzhen.

Companies in the aviation industry and brokerages fell across the board. The food and beverage sectors as well as agriculture led the gains.

The Shanghai index managed to stay above 3,000 points, a level seen by many as psychologically important, despite the losses on Thursday as investors were encouraged by data released on Wednesday showing improvement in overall business activity.

The Caixin China Composite purchasing managers' index, which covers both manufacturing and services, recorded the highest reading in 11 months at 51.3 in March, up from 49.4 in February. Endi