China's shares held steady on Thursday as the market consolidated gains after hitting a five-month peak on Wednesday. The benchmark Shanghai composite index closed at 1,217.281 points, unchanged from Wednesday, after the market recovered from a 0.2 percent slip in the morning session.
"Today was just a consolidation of yesterday's gains," said Chen Huiqin, an analyst with Huatai Securities. Asia's largest oil refiner Sinopec Corp fell 0.9 percent to 4.31 yuan, wiping out a nearly 1 percent gain on Wednesday. Merchants Bank Co Ltd, the mainland's top listed lender, ended 1 percent lower at 6.83 yuan, after advancing 1.2 percent the previous trading day.
CITIC Securities Co Ltd, the country's ninth largest broker and an arm of top domestic financial conglomerate China International Trust and Investment Corp, inched up 0.59 percent to 5.14 yuan.