Mainland China stocks extended ‍gains on ‍Thursday, with the Shanghai benchmark marking its seventh ​straight winning session, led by gains in aerospace and ⁠robot shares, while Hong Kong was closed for the ⁠Christmas holidays.

** At the ‌close, the benchmark Shanghai Composite index was 0.47% higher, while the blue-chip CSI 300 ⁠Index gained 0.18%.

** Aerospace and robot shares were among the biggest winners, with sub-indexes tracking the two sectors jumping 4.39% and 2.84%, respectively.

** The property ⁠sector gave up ​earlier gains, even as Beijing further relaxed some property purchase restrictions to stabilise ‍the wobbling sector. The CSI 300 Real Estate index , ​which tracks the industry, fell 0.34%.

** Beijing's municipal authorities further eased curbs on home purchases on Wednesday, lowering the threshold for home-buying qualifications, in the latest efforts to boost demand amid worsening home prices in the Chinese capital.

** China's central bank pledged to stabilise market expectations and keep the exchange rate "basically stable at ⁠a reasonable and balanced level", a ‌meeting readout released on Wednesday showed.

** Hong Kong's market is closed on Thursday and Friday for the ‌Christmas holidays. ⁠Trading will resume on December 29.

(Reporting by Shanghai Newsroom; ⁠Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and William Mallard)