Index gains at midday on strength of rising blue chips

By Lydia Chen  |   2008-7-9  |     ONLINE EDITION

SHANGHAI'S key stock index rose nearly 3 percent in the morning session today thanks to a rally among blue chips in the real estate, banking and oil-related sectors.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 2.99 percent, or 88.28 points, to 3,040.73 at 11:30am.

Gainers in the Shanghai market outnumbered losers 588 to 217 while 19 remained unchanged.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks the smaller domestic stock exchange, was up 1.49 percent, or 12.77 points, to 870.17.

PetroChina, the largest oil producer and biggest heavyweight in the market, surged 3.17 percent to 15.62 yuan (US$2.28) while Sinopec, the biggest oil refiner, gained 4.73 percent to 10.62 yuan.

Poly Real Estate Group Co, China's second-largest developer by market value, and Cosco Shipping Co, a unit of China's biggest shipping company, increased after forecasting higher profits.

Poly Real Estate jumped 8.85 percent to 17.10 yuan. The company said first-half profit may have surged between 220 and 270 percent from a year earlier.

Cosco Shipping climbed 7.13 percent to 28.70 yuan. Its first-half profit climbed 141 percent from a year earlier, the company said.

A strong profit forecast also helped lift shares of Jinzhou Port Co this morning.

The port operator in northeastern China said first-half profit may have surged between 100 and 150 percent as fees and cargo volumes expanded. First-half net income in 2007 was 38 million yuan. The share edged up 0.60 percent to 6.66 yuan.

Shanghai International Port (Group) Co, the operator of the world's second-busiest container harbor, added 1.77 percent to 5.88 yuan. The company said first-half profit may have jumped by 30 percent as the market environment remained "healthy'' and it trimmed costs. First-half net income in 2007 was 1.8 billion yuan a year earlier.