SHANGHAI: Shanghai and Hong Kong stocks rose on Thursday, led by gains in financials and state-owned enterprises after the May Day holiday, while shares traded in Shenzhen were down.

China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index was little changed, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.8%.

Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 1.3%, while the China Enterprises Index added 2.0%.

Financial stocks along with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) surged in the session.

Bank of China Ltd, Bank of Communications Co Ltd, and China Pacific Insurance Group Co Ltd soared 7.4%, 6.3%, and 9.2%, respectively.

Hang Seng Mainland Banks Index gained 4.8%, with Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd up 7.7%.

SinoSteel Engineering & Technology Co Ltd and China Science Publishing & Media Ltd rose to a maximum 10% each.

Despite news of China’s tourism rebounding to pre-COVID levels during the May Day holiday with the number of domestic trips rising by more than two-thirds from a year earlier, CSI tourism shares were down 4.5%.

Meanwhile, China’s factory activity unexpectedly dipped in April, a private sector survey showed on Thursday, due to softer domestic demand, and suggesting the manufacturing sector is losing momentum amid a bumpy post-pandemic recovery.