China Minsheng Banking Corp, the country's first private lender, ended 0.57 percent higher at 3.51 yuan, after diving 27 percent on Wednesday as it joined an unpopular programme to float non-traded state shares.
Other actively traded stocks included Wuhan Iron and Steel Co Ltd, China's third biggest steel producer, which gained 1.75 percent to 3.49 yuan. Bargain hunters had piled in after the counter shed 5.2 percent this week due to an 18 percent slide in its third-quarter earnings.
"Technical buying in some large-caps helped the index bounce slightly, but market sentiment remains weak," said analyst Zhang Yong at Shanghai Securities.
Other gainers included Merchants Bank Co, which rose 1.3 percent to 6.29 yuan, ahead of its third-quarter earnings due to be unveiled late on Thursday.
China in April revived a programme to convert $250 billion of non-traded shares, which account for two-thirds of market capitalisation, into freely floated paper. The market has slid since amid fears of a deluge of shares.
The market has fallen 4 percent this week alone, hit also by disappointing results by some major companies.