China''s stocks rebounded slightly Thursday after two days of losses, led by cement companies, new industries and aircraft makers.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.21 percent to close at 2,684.04. The Shenzhen Component Index edged up 0.10 percent to finish at 11,934.41.
Combined turnover shrank to 138.16 billion yuan (21.46 U.S. dollars) from 149.9 billion yuan on the previous day.
Gainers outnumbered losers by 588 to 295 in Shanghai and 741 to 507 in Shenzhen.
Cement shares continued to help boost the broader market after the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Wednesday that the country''s cement producers saw their profits soar by 170 percent in the first five months.
The average cement price per tonne rose 57.24 yuan in June from a year earlier and 1.07 yuan from May, the ministry added.
Huaxin Cement Co. increased 6.25 percent to 27.69 yuan. Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement Co. added 2.39 percent to 18.82 yuan. Anhui Conch, the country''s biggest cement producer, rose 2.55 percent to 26.19 yuan.
Stocks related with new industries were generally up on news that a development plan for the new strategic industries in the following five years will be unveiled in September.
Zhuhai Wanlida Electric Co., a high-tech electric power automation firm, jumped 4.15 percent to 26.38 yuan. NARI Technology Development Co. advanced 2.52 percent to 39 yuan.
Aircraft makers contributed to make gains after Shanghai Securities News reported the government will include aircraft making as one of its new strategic industries in the next five years.
Hubei Aviation Precision Machinery Technology Co. rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 24.65 yuan. Xi''an Aircraft International Corp. climbed 2.86 percent to 11.51 yuan.
However, the market gains were pared in the afternoon with weak bank and steel shares being the main drags on concerns of global economic growth and possible further tightening measures in China.
The government is scheduled to release data of consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, next week. The market expects China''s inflation will remain at a high level, fueling possibility of another interest rate rise.
The central bank has so far raised interest rates three times and the reserve requirement ratio six times this year as it struggles to keep prices in check. Inflation escalated to a three-year high of 6.4 percent year-on-year in June.
Further, the possibility of a third-round quantitative easing policy is looming in the United States after the government announced a lift in the debt ceiling, said Wang Jun, an economist with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.
That would have an impact on the Chinese economy and add complications for policymakers regarding macroeconomic controls, he said.
Source: Xinhua