SHANGHAI - China's key stock index closed up 1.1 per cent on Friday in still tepid volume as strong trade data encouraged investors to take on more risk, after persistent talk of an interest rate rise kept the market rangebound all week.

Some market players expect the index to recover once inflation data is out over the weekend.

"The worries over a rise in interest rates is getting old. The market is likely to rebound next week," said Wen Lijun, analyst at Nanjing Securities.

The index ended flat for the week after speculative retail investors, who closely track near-term policy measures, sat on the sidelines and avoided taking big positions in large cap issues.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended at 2,841.0 edging closer to the 250-day moving average now at 2,866 points, a mark that analysts see as reasonable for the market given solid fundamentals such as strong corporate earnings, attractive valuations and government stimulus measures.