Stocks News
- Stocks top 6,000 mark
Date: 16-Oct-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
THE mainland's main stock index surged more than 2 percent yesterday, rising above 6,000 points for the first time, as the market shrugged off monetary tightening and focused instead on politics and strong earnings growth.
The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 2.15 percent at 6,030.086 points, near its intraday high of 6,039.042. That left it up 125 percent since the start of this year, and up 419 percent since the beginning of 2006. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.5 percent to 1,524.57.
Turnover in Shanghai A shares was heavy at 192.1 billion yuan (US$25.5 billion), though down from Friday's four-month high of 216.7 billion yuan.
Over 30 A shares jumped their 10 percent daily limits, many of them non-financial blue chips such as telecom giant China Unicom, Baoshan Iron & Steel and oil refiner Sinopec, whose rise brought its gain over the past three trading days to 29 percent.
Firms have begun reporting earnings for the third quarter and though it is still early in the reporting season, so far profits have been stronger than expected, with scores of firms estimating nine-month profit leaps of over 50 percent.
'Good earnings growth will continue at least into next year, so I do not think the market risks a big pull-back this year,'said analyst Zhou Lefeng at Xiangcai Securities.
Other analysts are more cautious. Falling Shanghai stocks actually outnumbered gainers by 448 to 400 yesterday as many second-tier stocks, now shunned by individual investors as well as funds, continued a slide that began last week.
The 6,000 point level has been considered major resistance by some traders, who said it was too early to be sure that level had broken cleanly.
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