Chinese shares close higher Friday

BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese stocks closed higher on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.38 percent, at 3,222.51 points.

The smaller Shenzhen index closed 0.78 percent higher at 10,428.72 points. The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 0.72 percent to close at 1,907.34 points.