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Chinese shares rise to new record, led by bank stocks, 04/25

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-04-26 09:59

Chinese shares rose to yet another record high on Wednesday, with the key Shanghai Composite Index, led by bank stocks, gaining 0.63 percent to close at 3,743.96 points.

The index, which covers both A- and B-shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, opened at 3,708.57 points but dropped to 3,653.99 points in the morning, after touching an intraday all-time high of 3,769.25 points.

The component index of the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange dipped 0.01 percent to 10,668.27 points.

Combined turnover of the two bourses shrank to 263 billion yuan (33.7 billion US dollars) from Tuesday's record high of 317.6 billion yuan.

The fluctuating stock index saw 522 stocks in Shanghai and 386 in Shenzhen dip in value.

But the vast majority of heavyweight stocks moved up, with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China up 2.6 percent to 5.53 yuan, the Bank of China up 3.04 percent to 5.76 yuan and China Life up 1.44 percent to 38.16 yuan.

Other bank stocks also rebounded, while steel stocks lost ground after recent rises.

Shenzhen Development Bank and Huaxia Bank reached their daily ten percent limits and China Minsheng Banking Corp. surged 6.75 percent.

"Big fluctuations are a normal phenomenon when the stock index is high", said Xu Wei, an analyst at Shanghai TX Investment Consulting Co. Ltd.