PetroChina's share price rocketed 163.2 per cent on its first day of trading in Shanghai even as the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 2.48 per cent.

Yesterday's performance made PetroChina the world's largest company by market capitalisation, surpassing ExxonMobil.

PetroChina's A shares surged as high as 48.62 yuan before closing at 43.96 yuan, up from the 16.7 yuan offer price. Some 69.99 billion yuan of its shares changed hands - 44.5 per cent of the Shanghai bourse's turnover of 157.2 billion yuan.