China stocks rise

Chinese shares closed higher for the seventh straight session on Wednesday after officials reported the lowest daily increase in coronavirus infection cases in nearly two weeks, calming investor nerves over the epidemic's economic impact.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.9% at 2,926.90. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.8%. The indexes also gained in the previous six trading days.

CSI300's financial sector sub-index rose 0.4%, the consumer staples sector was up 0.2%, the real estate index edged down 0.2% and the healthcare sub-index was up 1.5%.

The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 1.6% and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index rose 2.8%.

Across mainland China, there were 2,015 new confirmed cases on Tuesday, the lowest since Jan. 30 when there were 1,982 new confirmed cases.

The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Shandong Jinjing Science & Technology Stock Co Ltd, Routon Electronic Co Ltd and EGing Photovoltaic Technology Co Ltd, all up by about 10.1%.

So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 4% and the CSI300 has fallen 2.7%. Shanghai stocks have declined 1.7% this month.

About 24.87 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange. The volume in the previous trading session was 26.92 billion.