* SSEC 0.6%, CSI300 0.7%
* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used 8%, Shanghai->HK daily quota used 4.1%
* FTSE China A50 +1.0%
BEIJING, Dec 23 (Reuters) - China stocks ended higher on Thursday, with the consumer and industrial sectors gaining the most, while news of a new state-owned rare earth group boosted resource stocks.
** The CSI300 index rose 0.7% to 4,914.45 points on Thursday, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6% to 3,622.62 points, both extending their earlier gains.
** Resource stocks advanced 1.4%, with rare earth-related firms leading the charge after state media CCTV reported that China has set up a national rare earths company that will operate under the state asset regulator.
** Shares of China Minmetals Rare Earth Co Ltd, which will hold 20.3% of the newly-established conglomerate, inched up 0.3% after jumping as much as 8.5% following the morning announcement.
** The consumer staples index closed 1.8% higher at the end of the session. Kweichow Moutai, the country's top distiller and the biggest mainland-listed firm by market capitalisation, jumped 3.2%.
** However, the resurgence of new clusters of coronavirus cases hit risk sentiment, limiting further gains in A-shares.
** China's northwestern city of Xi'an imposed tight curbs on outbound travel as well as ordinary commuting within the city as new COVID-19 cases ticked higher. (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
