Banks and commodity producers help stocks to advance

SHANGHAI - Stocks on the Chinese mainland rebounded from a more than one-year low on speculation the government may delay interest-rate increases after Premier Wen Jiabao urged global cooperation to stabilize financial markets.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) paced gains by lenders. PetroChina Co led commodity producers higher as crude and metal prices rallied after the US Federal Reserve vowed to keep borrowing costs near zero.

The Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.91 percent on Wednesday, to 2549.18 at the 3 pm close. On Tuesday, the gauge closed at a level that was 20 percent lower than a November high. The measure trades at 11.7 times estimated earnings, a record-low, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg.