Chinese shares higher in morning session after roller-coaster ride

BEIJING -- Chinese shares made a rally and closed higher in the morning session Friday, following a roller-coaster ride in the first 30 minutes after opening.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened 2.2 percent higher at 3,194.63 points, boosted by China's securities regulator's decision to suspend the circuit breaker mechanism four trading days after its introduction into the Chinese stock exchanges.

The Index gained 3 percent after the opening, then nosedived to the lowest level of 3,056.88 points in 15 minutes.

Within minutes, however, the index staged a V-shaped comeback and rose to 3,170.71 points at around 10:00 a.m.

The smaller Shenzhen index experienced a similar dive and recovery.

After the two-hour morning trading session, the Shanghai index closed 2.39 percent higher at 3,199.56 points. The Shenzhen index advanced 1.98 percent, or 212.84 points, to close at 10,973.12 points.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 0.73 percent to end at 2,273.02 points.

Shares related to coal, finance, steel and non-ferrous metals were among the top gainers in the morning.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission announced late Thursday night that it decided to suspend the circuit breaker mechanism for consideration of maintaining market stability.