Chinese stocks rose 1.74 percent to a nine-month closing high on Wednesday after mixed economic data for April showed brisk retail sales growth, while energy shares were strong and the market was buoyed by ample liquidity. The Shanghai Composite Index ended at 2,663.766 points, extending a 1.49 percent rise on Tuesday.
Gaining Shanghai A shares outnumbered losers by 579 to 310, while turnover in Shanghai A shares rose to 144.5 billion yuan ($21.2 billion) from Tuesday's 113.2 billion yuan. PetroChina, the most heavily weighted stock in the index, gained 6.07 percent to 13.29 yuan. The shares were suspended on Tuesday due to a shareholders' meeting.
Analysts said Wednesday's mixed data for April appeared consistent with the recovery phase of China's economy, while offering encouragement to policymakers that consumer spending was helping to compensate for weakness in the industrial sector.
Investors may have drawn some relief that the data was out of the way without any major negative surprises, while plentiful liquidity was expected to continue supporting the market. "Ample liquidity helped to push up the index," said Western Securities analyst Cao Xuefeng. Huatai Securities analyst Chen Huiqin cited recent strong sales of new mutual funds as a positive sign for stocks.
Coal industry leader China Shenhua Energy advanced 2.73 percent to 27.44 yuan while Pingdingshan Tianan Coal Mining jumped 7.36 percent to 31.67 yuan, boosted by higher oil prices, traders said. Metals shares were strong, with Zhongjin Gold climbing 3.31 percent to 62.76 yuan while Xiamen Tungsten raced up its 10 percent daily limit to 16.27 yuan. Gansu Jiu Steel Group Hongxing Iron & Steel jumped 6.69 percent to 10.05 yuan after saying it planned to issue 6.786 billion yuan worth of shares in a private placement to its state-owned parent in exchange for assets.
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