China A-shares close broadly higher; key index at fresh high

China A-shares close broadly higher; key index at fresh high - UPDATE

	Published : Mon, 26 Mar 2007 08:54 By : Agencies Print this Story

SHANGHAI (XFN-ASIA) - A-shares in Shanghai and Shenzhen closed broadly higher on continued money inflows with telecom issues, tourism stocks and automakers leading the gains, dealers said.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A- and B-shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, closed up 48.53 points, or 1.58 pct, at 3,122.81, a fresh all time closing high, after moving between 3,069.47 and 3,123.18.

Turnover rose to 109.83 bln yuan from 104.61 bln in the previous session.

'Funds from institutional investors, such as fund management firms and insurers, continued to rush into the market, in the wake of its recent strong market performance,' said Xu Ming, an analyst at Shiji Investment.

Analysts said the momentum is expected to continue in the short run.

'The upward trend is likely to be maintained, as investors expect no more major negative news to emerge in the near future after the interest rate hike announced one week ago,' said Zhu Haibin, an analyst at Everbright Securities.

Telecom companies were buoyed by the latest development in third-generation mobile technology, dealers said.

Recent media reports said that China Mobile Communications Corp, the country's largest mobile operator, has put out a 20 bln yuan tender for the construction of a homegrown 3G TD-SCDMA network in eight major cities and will begin commercial trials of the service in October.

Sichuan Huiyuan Optical Communications Co Ltd (SZA 000586) was up its 10 pct daily limit at 5.93 yuan.

Datang Telecom Technology Co Ltd (SHA 600198), the developer of China's home-grown TD-SCDMA technology, was up 0.55 yuan or 2.67 pct at 21.18. ZTE Corporation (SZA 000063; HK 0763) was up 1.90 yuan or 4.39 pct at 45.20.

Tourism listings were snapped up amidst rotational interest, with Beijing Capital Tourism Co Ltd (SHA 600258) up its 10 pct daily limit at 24.63 yuan.

Beijing Jingxi Tourism Development Co Ltd (SZA 000802) was up the 10 pct limit at 15.75 yuan. China CYTS Tours Holding Co Ltd (SHA 600138) was also up 10 pct at 20.76.

Automakers were also in demand on strong sales, with Jiangxi Changhe Automobile Co Ltd (SHA 600372) up its 10 pct daily limit at 6.15 yuan.

Shanghai Automotive Co Ltd (SHA 600104) was up 0.57 yuan or 4.47 pct at 13.32. FAW Car Co Ltd (SZA 000800), a partner of Mazda Motor, was up 0.49 yuan or 5.82 pct at 8.91.

Fuyao Group Glass Industries Co Ltd (SHA 600660) was up 0.89 yuan or 4.82 pct at 19.35. It said it expects first quarter net profit to rise by more than 50 pct from a year earlier due to higher exports and technology upgrades.

Wuliangye Yibin Co Ltd (SZA 000858) was up 0.33 yuan or 1.22 pct at 27.37. It said 2006 net profit rose 47.86 pct year-on-year to 1.17 bln yuan due to higher output and selling prices.

Huadian Power International Corp Ltd (SHA 600027; HK 1071) was up 0.16 yuan or 2.89 pct at 5.70. It said net profit in 2006 rose 10.5 pct to 1.12 bln yuan under Chinese accounting standards, due to higher output.

Jiangsu Expressway Co Ltd (SHA 600377; HK 0177; ADR JEXWW) was up 0.20 yuan or 2.90 pct at 7.09 after net profit in 2006 rose 61.93 pct to 1.13 mln yuan under Chinese accounting standards, on the back of higher traffic.

Anhui Expressway Co Ltd (SHA 600012; HK 0995) was up 0.24 yuan or 2.97 pct at 8.33 after net profit rose 13.66 pct to 749.3 mln yuan in 2006 under Chinese accounting standards, due to higher toll revenue.

Bright Dairy & Food Co Ltd (SHA 600597) was up 0.06 yuan or 0.64 pct at 9.45 even though net profit fell 27.6 pct to 152.84 mln yuan in 2006 due to rising costs and operating expenses.

The Shanghai A-share Index was up 51.17 points or 1.58 pct to 3,281.44 on turnover of 109.32 bln yuan and the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 17.63 points or 2.07 pct at 870.79, also a new record, on turnover of 57.30 bln yuan.

The FTSE/Xinhua China A 50 Index was up 139.32 points at 10,992.27. The FTSE/Xinhua China A 200 Index was up 118.30 points to 7,923.69 and the FTSE/Xinhua China A 600 Index was up 132.02 points at 7,031.15.

(1 usd = 7.72 yuan)

lake.xu@xinhuafinance.com

China A-shares close broadly higher; key index at fresh high - UPDATE