Mainland stocks were mixed on Thursday as investors await policy guidance from a key meeting this month.

The Hang Seng Index rose 175 points, or 0.68 percent, to end trading on Thursday at 25,935 while the tech index jumped 1.5 percent.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down just over two points, or 0.06 percent, at 3,875 while the Shenzhen Component Index was 51 points, 0.4 percent, higher at 13,006 and the ChiNext Index, China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, was up 30 points, or 1.01 percent, at 3,067.

China's blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.3 percent.

The combined turnover of the main indexes in Shanghai and Shenzhen was 1.55 trillion yuan, down from 1.67 trillion yuan on Wednesday.

Shares related to aircraft manufacturing and ceramics led gains while the shipbuilding and environmental protection sectors were among the biggest losers.

Citi analysts said they expect "few surprises" in economic data or policy impact towards the year-end, adding they'll be watching the Central Economic Work Conference this month for further policy cues.

China is likely to stick to its current annual economic growth target of around 5 percent in 2026 as top leaders to meet soon to chart the economic course for next year, a goal that would require authorities to keep fiscal and monetary spigots open as they seek to snap a deflationary spell.

Sector performance was mixed. Weighing on the markets on Thursday, the CSI Liquor Index was down 2 percent and the consumer staple sector weakened 1 percent.

Property-related shares extended the decline with the CSI 300 Real Estate Index weakening 0.3 percent, as sentiment remained subdued amid Vanke's liquidity struggle.

In contrast, the CSI Semiconductor Index rallied more that 3 percent and the robotics index jumped 2 percent. The artificial intelligence index was up nearly 1 percent.

Despite the weakness in the market this week, downside surprises should be limited towards the year-end, with another US rate cut potentially supporting global liquidity conditions, which would also bolster domestic sentiment, analysts at Pacific Securities said in a note.

"We think investors should keep a long bias and wait for risk appetite to return," they added. (Reuters/Xinhua)