Chinese stocks ended mixed in the morning trading session on Thursday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index declining 1.20% following sharp drop in neighboring markets.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, edged down 24.27 points to close at 1993.20 points in the morning session.

The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange gained 0.53% or 35.54 points to stand at 6715.48 points.

Gainers in the Shanghai market outnumbered decliners by 406 to 375, while 73 were unchanged.

China Vanke Co Ltd, the country's largest publicly traded residential properties developer, advanced 0.92% to RMB 6.56. Gemdale Corp, one of the largest property developers in China, rose 2.13% to close at RMB 6.70. COFCO Property (Group) Co. Ltd gained 1.72% to RMB 5.92.

China Life Insurance Co, the country's largest life insurance company, went down 2.47% to RMB 20.56, while Ping An Insurance (Group) Co, China's second-largest insurer, plunged 4.53% to RMB 24.44.

Air China Ltd, the largest carrier in the country by market value, lost 1.52% to RMB 4.53. China Eastern Airlines, the country's third-largest carrier, added 1.93% to RMB 4.75. China Southern Airlines Co, the largest airline by fleet size in the country, edged down 2.25% to RMB 3.91.

Market heavy weight PetroChina, the nation's top oil producer, lost 1.76% to close at RMB 11.70, while Asia's largest oil refiner Sinopec gained 1.08% to RMB 8.46.