China's B-shares Jump to 34-month HighChina's hard currency B shares jumped to a 34-month closing high on Monday in active trading as follow-through buying gained ground after a recovery late last week, according to Chinadaily.The Shanghai B-share index rose 4.00 points to 74.03 after exceeding 70 points on Friday. Turnover expanded to US$46,197 from Friday's US$36,033. It was the highest close since a 74.026 finish on October 10, 1997. "The Shanghai index stood above the 70 point level on Friday, so investors were bullish and bought more today," said an analyst with CITIC Securities. Brokers said the upbeat tone spilled over into the hard currency stocks traded on the Shenzhen bourse. The Shenzhen B-share sub-index also rose 20.48 points to 863.09. Brokers said interest in hard currency shares remained strong and that the market could continue to rise this week. Power counters glowed on the Shanghai B-share market after major generators reported improved interim earnings due to a pick-up in economic growth that boosted electricity demand. Zhejiang Southeast Electric Power Co was the most active B share, with 10.97 million shares traded. It rose US$0.024 to a year-high US$0.404 after reporting on Friday a better-than-expected 6 per cent rise in first half profits. Domestic A shares also gained steam on reports that the government planned to allow more insurance funds into the stock markets. Ma Yongwei, chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, said last weekend that China is considering raising the limit on the scale of insurance company funds allowed to invest in the stock markets. Brokers said the news means the A-share market would contain more liquidity, an important engine behind the bull run. The Shanghai composite index gained 13.634 points to new closing record of 2,076.300 points yesterday on turnover of 14.33 billion yuan (US$1.73 billion). Shenzhen's composite sub-index lost 4.83 points to 5,013.18 with trading volume of 12.87 billion yuan (US$1.55 billion). The Dow Jones China 88 index dipped 0.16 per cent to 199.67 points on yesterday's close. The Dow Jones Shanghai index yesterday went up 0.44 per cent to 258.99 points, and the Shenzhen index rose 0.47 per cent to 258.6 points. |
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