Chinese shares registered mild gains Thursday led by strong performance of the coal industry and recently listed stocks.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 0.47 percent to close at 3,188.06 points while the smaller Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.58 percent higher at 10,511.86 points.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, was up 0.3 percent to close at 1,813.55 points.

Shares in the coal industry led the gains during morning trading, with Shanxi Coking Co. Ltd jumping by the daily limit of 10 percent.

Most recently-listed companies saw their shares rise. For example,shares of Jiangsu Riying Electronics, a company that went public on Tuesday, jumped by the daily limit for the second consecutive day.

In afternoon trading, the shares of subsidiaries of China National Machinery Industry Corporation and textile giant China Hi-Tech Group Corporation soared after news broke that a merger between the two companies was approved.

Jingwei Textile Machinery Company, a subsidiary of China Hi-Tech Group, jumped more than 5 percent on the news before ending up 3 percent higher at closing.