Chinese shares closed higher Monday, led by strong performance of securities companies.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.93 percent to end at 3,362.65. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.41 percent higher at 10,809.74.

Trading picked up, with combined turnover on the two bourses reaching 640.8 billion yuan (97.1 billion U.S. dollars), up from 466.2 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Securities companies led the gains. Orient Securities rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 16.78 yuan. Zheshang Securities also rose by 10 percent to 22.01 yuan.

Boosted by steady profit growth in major industrial firms in the first seven months, sectors such as cyber security, home-made software, automobiles and electronics performed well.

China's major industrial firms posted steady profit growth in the first seven months of the year, official data showed Sunday.

From January to July, industrial companies with annual revenue over 20 million yuan reported total profits of more than 4.2 trillion yuan, 21.2 percent more than the same period in 2016, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Bucking the trend, shares in banks dropped, with China Merchants Bank sliding 1.05 percent to 27.24 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.65 percent to close at 1,842.83.