Stocks rocket 3.73%, regain 4,000-point ground

By Li Zengxin
Updated: 2007-07-20 16:28

Chinese stocks shrugged off worries of tightening monetary policyies and marched strongly upward today to take back the 4,000-point critical barrier lost in aftermath of the May 30 stamp tax hike.

Analysts said better growth prospects in a few industries, reflected by the first half-year statistics, weakened the fear for the expected tightening measures and investor confidence might have returned to some extend to drive the whole market up today.

The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 4,058.85, up 145.91 points or 3.73 percent, the largest single-day surge since May 30.

Total turnover of stocks enclosed by the two major indices was 157.2 billion yuan, the second largest this month after July 9, when the stock prices grew 2.69 percent that day.

Shanghai Composite Index
Source: www.sina.com.cn

Opening higher at 3,918.41, the benchmark index surged upward in waves, expect for a few setbacks, none of which were deep enough to reverse the trend or return it to the opening level. It finished on the peak of the waves, just a little down than the highest of 4,062.12.

Of the A shares listed in Shanghai, as many as 788 went up, only eight dropped and 44 ended unchanged. Jilin Wuhua Group rose 10.09 percent to 6.44 yuan on top of the gainer's list, followed by Gansu Yasheng Industrial Group and Wuhan Xianglong Power Industry, both sealed at the maximum growth cap of 10 percent. Loss-making ST stocks, took up six places on the bottom, with Xiamen Eagle Group losing largest proportion of its share price.

Banks ranked on top of the largest traders' list. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, with the biggest trading volume, added up 0.17 yuan while China Minsheng Banking Corp, with the largest transaction value, surged 6.5 percent. Bank of Nanjing following China Minsheng, on its second trading day, with a 4.9 percent rise on top of yesterday's 72 percent surge.

Shenzhen Component Index
Source: www.sina.com.cn

The Shenzhen Component Index, tracking the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange, ended at 13,417.96, up 627.02 point or 4.9 percent. Opening lower from at 12,786.61, it went through the day within a range of 12,775.15 to 13,420.04.

Of the A shares, only nine were down while 547 went up and 62 closed flat. Guangdong Rosen Super Micro-Wire rocketed 197.88 percent to 25.35 yuan on its debut, followed by another new stock Sichuan Gaojin Food with a 196 percent rise. Loss-making Stone Group High-Tech dropped 5 percent to lead the fall by few.

Real estate shares were best performers. All of the more than 50 stocks surged, led by Dongguan Winnerway Industrial Zone with a 10 percent rise and China Vanke, the largest trader in Shenzhen, climbing 10 percent and lifting the index up. Stocks in the retail and wholesale, service, and financial industries were also strong.

B shares went up. Of the 109 listed B shares, only one went down and three ended unchanged. Closed-end mutual funds gained on their remarkable second-quarter results published today, with both the fund indices up over 3.5 percent.


(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)

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