China shares end higher as healthcare firms gain on vaccination efforts

SHANGHAI: China shares closed higher on Thursday, with healthcare shares leading the gains as the country ramped up vaccination efforts amid the emergence of a new cluster of infections.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.08% at 3,482.55.

The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.17%, with its healthcare sub-index up 1.74% and the consumer staples sector up 0.97%.

China reported 24 new COVID-19 cases on April 7, with 11 of the new cases were local infections reported in the southwestern Yunnan province.

The country had administered a total of 149.07 million COVID-19 vaccine doses, as of Wednesday.