Mainland stocks rose on Thursday, led by artificial intelligence and chip shares while Hong Kong-listed tech stocks headed towards a record week as investors remained focused on sector trends during a quiet policy period ahead of major holidays.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended down 33 points, or 0.13 percent, at 26,484 for the day.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index inched up 0.01 percent to end at 9,444 while the Hang Seng Tech Index climbed 0.89 percent to end at 6,379, making it set for an eighth straight month of gains.

Across the border, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.01 percent to 3,853, putting it on track to register a 0.9 percent gain for the week, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.67 percent higher at 13,445.

The combined turnover of these two indexes was 2.37 trillion yuan, up from 2.33 trillion yuan on Wednesday.

Shares related to gaming and power supply equipment led gains while stocks related to precious metals, port shipping and gas suffered major losses.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.58 percent to close at 3,235.

At the market close, China's blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.6 percent, on track for a 2 percent weekly gain.

"We're sticking with our view of a steady, gradual bull market and maintaining our focus on tech themes," analysts at Topsperity Securities said, adding that industry trends will continue to be the driver for short-term market direction.

Trading could be light, given the current policy lull following the US Federal Reserve's meeting, China-US leaders' call, and ahead of the National Day and mid-autumn holidays next week, they added.

Investors will also watch for Thursday's staff-level technical talks between US and Chinese officials at the US Treasury, focused on trade and economic issues.

Tech stocks led gains in onshore markets, with AI stocks up 2.7 percent and semiconductor shares 1.5 percent higher.

The rare earths sector added 0.6 percent, following a news report that Group of Seven members and the European Union are considering price floors to promote rare earth production.

Financial-related shares dragged on the market, with the banking sector weakening 0.7 percent and the insurance sector down 0.4 percent. (Reuters/Xinhua)