NEW YORK, May 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher on Thursday with nine of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

       Shares of Pinduoduo and Baidu surged 8.97 percent and 5.45 percent, respectively, leading the gainers in the top 10 stocks in the index.

       Shares of Yum China Holdings slipped 0.29 percent, the lone decliner in the top 10 stocks.

       U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, following a brutal sell-off in the previous session, as investors continued to dump equities.

       The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 236.94 points, or 0.75 percent, to 31,253.13. The S&P 500 decreased 22.89 points, or 0.58 percent, to 3,900.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 29.65 points, or 0.26 percent, to 11,388.50.

       The Cboe Volatility Index, widely considered as the best fear gauge in the stock market, dipped 5.2 percent to 29.35.

       As of Wednesday, the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index, which is designed to track the performance of the 50 largest Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges by total market cap, stood at 2,241.07, marking a 4.8-percent slide for the month-to-date returns and a 24.76-percent loss for the year-to-date returns.