Shanghai and Shenzhen indices finish higher on first day of trading after week-long break

Mainland Chinese markets closed at a three-week high on Thursday as both traders and volatility returned from a week-long holiday to play catch up with recent global rallies.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped almost 4 per cent higher at one point before pulling back in late trading to finish 3 per cent up at 3,143.36 points, led by a strong showing among technology and brokerage stocks.

The market outperformed except for the banking sector, which only gained half a percentage point, a Shanghai-based director of Shenwan Hongyuan Securities, Gerry Alfonso, said.

“The economic data over the holiday was better than expected,” he said, making reference to an improved government index that tracks corporate spending, “though the market was mostly catching up with (global) macroeconomic news.”

Among the gainers, satellite builder China Spacesat soared 8.38 per cent to 38.80 yuan (HK$47.34) and CITIC Securities added 4.93 per cent to 14.25 yuan. Developer China Fortune Land rose 5.75 per cent to 23.16 yuan, while Harbin Air Conditioning slid 5.4 per cent lower to 10.52 yuan.

The Shenzhen Composite Index finished 4 per cent higher at 1,785.39, but total market turnover remained below recent averages.

In Hong Kong, there was profit taking at mainland insurers who had outperformed the market while the mainland was on holiday. Ping An Insurance, the most heavily traded stock on the Hong Kong bourse on Thursday, gave up 1.62 per cent to trade at HK$ 42.50.