** The blue-chip CSI300 index fell 0.8% to 3,803.47, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended down 0.8% at 2,908.77.

** The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday, but the head of the U.S. central bank said the move might not be the start of a lengthy campaign to shore up the economy against risks, including global weakness.

** China's central bank kept its main policy rates on hold on Thursday, opting not to follow an overnight benchmark rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve as policymakers wait to see if earlier support measures start to stabilise the economy.

** The world's second largest economy remains under pressure amid ongoing trade tensions.

** Pressure on China's factories eased a little in July, thanks to growth-boosting steps from the government, but overall manufacturing activity remained in contraction as a trade war with the United States dented export orders, a private survey showed on Thursday.

** The readings were largely in line with an official gauge that showed factory activity last month shrank at a slower-than-expected pace.

** U.S. and Chinese negotiators ended a brief round of trade talks on Wednesday with little sign of progress and agreed to meet again in September, prolonging an uneasy truce in a year-long trade war between the world's two largest economies.

** Bucking the broad trend, stocks rallied across the board on the newly-launched STAR Market, as investors hailed Beijing's latest tech push amid tech war.

** All of the 25 listed firms posted gains, led by Beijing Worldia Diamond Tools and Suzhou Harmontronics Automation both surging the maximum allowed 20% to record highs.

** Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences, which plans to list on China's red-hot new tech board, said its newly issued shares were almost 3,000-times oversubscribed among retail investors, despite an eye-popping offer pricing of 468-times earnings.

** Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index  was weaker by 0.83%, while Japan's Nikkei index  closed up 0.09%.

** At 0714 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.8991 per U.S. dollar, 0.22% weaker than the previous close of 6.884.

** About 14.24 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 80.6% of the market's 30-day moving average of 17.67 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 14.11 billion.

** As of 0715 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 29.89% over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.