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.

The real estate index fell 1.75% after Beijing said it would push for property tax.

The National Development and Reform Commission rolled out new measures to relax market entries in the southern island of Hainan, boosting shares of local firms such as Hainan Haide Capital Management Co.

The smaller Shenzhen index ended unchanged for the day and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.7%.