1st LD-Writethru: Chinese shares close higher Thursday

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks rebounded Thursday propped up by shares in environmental protection and steel, as investors were encouraged by new policymaker pledges on structural reforms.

Despite opening lower, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index finished at 3,300.06, up 0.38 percent.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.04 percent higher at 11,118.25. The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board, gained 0.41 percent to close at 1,789.74.

Companies in energy saving and ecological restoration led the gains, with the sub-index of environmental protection up 1.26 percent. Beijing GeoEnviron Engineering & Technology, which specializes in solid waste management, saw the biggest increase, 5.18 percent.

"China will seek progress in pollution control and push for the development of an ecological civilization in 2018," said a statement issued after the Central Economic Work Conference, which concluded Wednesday.

Steel producers also rallied as the meeting agreed on continued efforts to dissolve excess industrial capacity.

Sectors including glass making and electron devices also gained. Bucking the trend, companies in distilled spirit, textile machinery and power generation lost.

Combined turnover on the two bourses stood at around 385 billion yuan (nearly 60 billion U.S. dollars), slightly up from 362.5 billion yuan the previous day. Enditem