Mainland stocks rose for a fourth straight day to close at a fresh three-and-a-half-year high on Thursday, as upbeat export data added fuel to the recent market rally despite renewed US tariff threats.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended the day up 171 points, or 0.69 percent, at 25,081.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed 0.55 percent to end at 8,981 while the Hang Seng Tech Index jumped 0.26 percent to close at 5,546.

New World Development surged up to 20 percent before finishing 10 percent higher at HK$7.14, on a report of talks that could potentially take it private.

In response, New World said in a filing late in the trading session that it had not been approached by any person, including the controlling shareholder and Blackstone, in relation to any offer for its shares.

On the mainland, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.16 percent at 3,639 while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.18 percent lower at 11,157.

The combined turnover of these two indices was 1.83 trillion yuan, up from 1.73 trillion yuan on Wednesday.

Shares related to the logistics and semi-conductor industries led gains while stocks related to the insurance, innovative medicine and photovoltaic sectors suffered major losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.68 percent to close at 2,342.

The mixed performances came as China's exports beat forecasts in July with outbound shipments up 7.2 percent year on year, customs data showed, as manufacturers made the most of a tariff truce with the United States.

Markets largely looked past US President Donald Trump's comments on Wednesday that he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the additional 25 percent duty imposed on imports of Indian goods over its Russian oil purchases, depending on what happens.

Investors remain focused on an August 12 deadline to see if Beijing and Washington will reach a durable tariff agreement.

"The upward trend is still intact," analysts at Pacific Securities said in a note, adding markets remain optimistic about US-China trade talks while technical indicators continue to show bullish momentum. (Reuters/Xinhua)