China's manufacturing activity expanded in November, but at a slower pace than October, according to HSBC'S preliminary purchasing managers' index (PMI) released on Thursday.

The HSBC flash manufacturing PMI for November eased to 50.4 from a seven-month high of 50.9 reported in October, staying above the boom-bust line of 50, HSBC said in a report.

The result was also below the official Chinese version of the manufacturing PMI, which hit 51.4 in October.

Qu Hongbin, chief China economist with HSBC, said although the country's growth momentum softened a little in November, the 50.4 figure was still the second-highest PMI reading in seven months and "we are still optimistic about the country's growth prospect in the short term."

After the release of the data, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.05 percent to end the morning session at 2,183.50. The Shenzhen Component Index shed 1.60 percent to close at 8,374.12. Endi