Chinese stocks are falling but the Shanghai market looks set to end 2015 up nearly 10 per cent.
That would easily beat Wall Street and most other major markets and shake off a savage summer rout.
By Thursday's lunch break, the blue-chip CSI300 index had lost 0.7 per cent to 3,739.10 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index had declined 0.6 per cent, to 3,550.92 points.
Hong Kong stocks were little changed.
With just two more hours of trading left in 2015, the Shanghai market was on track to post an annual gain of about 9.8 per cent, capping a year of wild fluctuations that sent shock waves across global markets.
In comparison, the S&P 500 index is up just 0.2 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is in negative territory. The Shanghai market has also outperformed most other major markets in Europe and Asia.
But the year in China was definitely not one for the faint-hearted.
Fuelled by excessive leverage, the Shanghai market surged nearly 60 per cent early in the year before crashing in mid-June, wiping off about one-third of the market value in just three weeks.
An unprecedented and heavy handed government rescue program has helped prices rebound about 25 per cent from their August lows but sentiment remains fragile.
A regulatory ban on large share sales imposed during the crash will expire in January.
While 2016 is expected to be another volatile year for China equities, some market watchers are expecting less drama, with Goldman Sachs expecting the trading pattern to be "fat and flat".
Qi Yifengat consultancy CEBM identified two major sources of concern haunting Chinese investors next year: when the economy will bottom out, and whether the market can withstand a potential equity supply glut.
China plans to revamp its initial public offering system as soon as in March to make company listings easier.
Most sectors fell on Thursday and volume was light.
State-owned Chinese investment company Central Huijin Investment Ltd said on Thursday it plans to transfer the shares it bought in August during the government's stock market rescue to a new asset management subsidiary.
The move may mean the shares will not immediately be sold, which should help to take some near-term pressure off the market, said analysts.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 0.2 per cent, to 21,914.40 points, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises Index was unchanged at 9,661.03.
The Hang Seng looks set to fall 7.2 per cent this year, while the HSCE has slumped more than 19 per cent.
Shares of China Power New Energy Development Co Ltd jumped 22.6 per cent, heading for the biggest percentage gain in seven years, after it said its parent plans an asset injection.
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