Chinese shares were mixed on Monday as steel stocks surged after unexpectedly strong third-quarter earnings but banks, which had jumped ahead of ICBC's listing last week, continued to see profit-taking.
The benchmark Shanghai composite index ended just 0.14 percent higher at 1,809.656 after edging in and out of negative territory. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which rose 5.13 percent - less than the 10 percent which many had expected - in its debut on Friday, inched up 0.3 percent to 3.29 yuan on Monday.
Turnover in Shanghai A-shares was a moderate 22.9 billion yuan ($2.91 billion), down from 34.3 billion yuan on Friday, when ICBC shares made up more than 8.6 billion of the total. ICBC's turnover was a modest 1.2 billion yuan on Monday.
There was an overall decline in the financial sector, with Minsheng Banking Corp down 0.85 percent at 5.85 yuan. However, traders said this was natural and the underlying tone of the market remained good. The fact that ICBC did not rise much on its first day means it is reasonably valued and there is little room for it to drag the market down, they said.
They also noted that many stocks that had just reported good third-quarter earnings rose substantially on Monday. "The overall market will keep going upwards, and the index will likely have technical support at 1,770 points in coming weeks," said analyst Zhang Qi at Haitong Securities.
China's biggest steel maker, Baoshan Iron and Steel Co, soared 5.99 percent to a five-month closing high of 4.78 yuan in the heaviest turnover for more than a year.
The company reported a 42 percent jump in third-quarter earnings late last Friday, far greater than the average of 1 percent which analysts had predicted.
Although analysts said the outlook for domestic steel prices remained murky and Baosteel's earnings didn't necessarily mean the outlook for the sector was improving, the earnings caused some investors to raise their view of the sector, traders said.
Angang News Steel Co gained 4.07 percent to a 31-month high of 6.90 yuan, after it reported a near 330 percent jump in its third-quarter net profit. Wuhan Steel, China's third-largest steel mill, soared 5.76 percent to 3.12 yuan. It said its third-quarter net profit rose 18 percent as its global market share expanded.
In the last hour on Friday, volume in Baosteel shares surged to several times normal levels and the stock jumped, closing up 3 percent. An official at the Shanghai Stock Exchange said he could not comment on whether there would be an investigation of the unusual movement just before the release of earnings.
Textile maker Shanghai Haixin Group Co plunged 9.21 percent to 2.76 yuan, after it said its president had been detained and that it would assist in an investigation. It said it did not know whether the probe was related to Shanghai's massive corruption scandal, and could not give further details.
Air China rose 1.06 percent to 3.82 yuan after it reported strong third-quarter earnings on Saturday, though it said the main reasons were special and seasonal factors. Hainan Airlines Co was up 1.72 percent at 2.95 yuan after it reported a 15-fold surge in third-quarter net profit.
Changan Auto, partner of Ford Motor Co and Mazda Motor Corp, rose 3.84 percent to 5.14 yuan after it posted net profit of 98.03 million yuan in July-September against a loss of 77.26 million a year earlier.
Sichuan Changhong Electric Appliance Co, one of the country's top TV makers and a leading producer of electrical appliances, rose 2.58 percent to 3.18 yuan. It said its net profit doubled in the third quarter.