Updates to market close

By Jiaxing Li

HONG KONG, Nov 13 (Reuters) - China stocks edged up on Thursday, led by gains in new energy sector shares, while investors awaited key economic data due on Friday.

** The Shanghai Composite index .SSEC was up 0.7% at 4,029.50 to its highest since 2015 and ended a two-day decline. China's blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 climbed 1.2%.

** Leading gains, the CSI New Energy Vehicle Index .CSI399976 surged 6.2% to a three-year high, and the New Energy Index .CSI399808 rallied 4.7% in its biggest single-day gain in two weeks.

** Battery maker CATL 300750.SZ surged 7.6% to near a record high last seen in October, and miner Tianqi Lithium 002466.SZ jumped 10%.

** China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will announce a comprehensive plan to boost the new energy battery sector and promote its infrastructure usage, a senior official said on Thursday.

** The artificial intelligence sector .CSI930713 and chip shares .CSI931865 climbed 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively, to recover some losses seen earlier this week.

** "The market will likely continue consolidating and building momentum around the 4,000-point level in the short term, which is beneficial for solidifying the market foundation and accumulating strength for subsequent movements," analysts at Yingda Securities said in a note.

** "It could help set the stage for further breaking new highs for the rest of the year."

** In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index .HSI added 0.6% to a one-month high. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index .HSCE also reversed earlier losses to gain 0.6%.

** Alibaba 9988.HK rallied 3.3% after a Bloomberg News report that the firm is preparing a revamp of flagship AI app to resemble ChatGPT.

** Elsewhere, investors are awaiting China's key set of data releases such as retail sales, industrial output, and investment on Friday, to get a sense of the economic recovery and any implications for the policy outlook.

(Reporting by Jiaxing Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Harikrishnan Nair)

((jiaxing.li@thomsonreuters.com))