SHANGHAI: Chinese shares closed flat on Thursday as better-than-expected bank lending data countered a decision by S&P Dow Jones Indices to remove some Chinese companies including Hikvision from its products. The blue-chip CSI300 index was unchanged at 4,940.52, while the Shanghai Composite Index ended flat at 3,373.28.

Consumer and healthcare firms gained, with the CSI300 healthcare index and the CSI300 consumer discretionary index closing up 0.9% and 0.5%, respectively. S&P DJI said it would remove A-shares, H-shares and ADRs of 10 companies, including Hikvision and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, from all equity indices prior to the market open on Dec. 21.

"The impact of the exclusion would be very limited and short-term on the whole A-share market, as there are still expectations of improvement in Sino-US relations when Biden takes the office," said Fu Yanping, an analyst with China Galaxy Securities.

Fu said the market found support form a slew of data pointing to a solid recovery in the world's second-largest economy. Shares of the 10 companies to be removed from S&P's indices closed mixed, with surveillance camera maker Hikvision ending up 3%.