The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, was up 0.60 percent at 1,605.71, finishing the week with a 2 percent gain.

The A share gauge added 0.59 percent to 1,688.01 while the B stock barometer grew 1.47 percent to 89.33.

"The market's climb shows some idle funds chose to step in, betting rosy returns from upcoming initial public offerings and a constant strong sentiment," said Liu Yu, an Orient Securities Co trader.

Bank of China, the nation's second-biggest lender by assets, yesterday let retail investors subscribe for 48 percent of its 20 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) Chinese mainland issuance. The bank plans to list on July 5 in Shanghai, chairman Xiao Gang said on Wednesday on an online roadshow.

Shanghai Pudong Development Co, the Chinese partner of Citigroup Inc, advanced 2.40 percent to 9.82 yuan. China United Telecommunications Corp, which controls the nation's second-largest cell-phone carrier, swelled 0.84 percent to 2.40 yuan.

Datong Coal Industry Co, China's No.2 coal miner by capacity, closed up 63.3 percent at 11.04 yuan on its trading debut, soaring as much as 92 percent during intraday trading.

Datong's flotation, which raised 1.89 billion yuan selling 280 million A shares, was the first Shanghai IPO since last May when authorities halted all sorts of share sales to prevent a four-year stock slump and facilitate a shareholding reform at listed firms.

Bucking the upside, Jiangxi Copper Co, China's biggest listed copper maker, eased 1.39 percent to 10.65 yuan as copper futures tumbled by as much as the 4 percent daily limit in Shanghai yesterday.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)