Chinese share prices jumped 2.22 percent to a new closing high yesterday on strong fund inflows, due partly to a rising yuan, with investors favoring banks and power generators, dealers said.
Nearly 60 companies closed up by their daily 10 percent limit.
Dealers said solid corporate results were the latest theme to provide support to the market, while the yuan's slow but steady advance made Chinese assets more attractive and underpinned the gains.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B-shares, added 78.17 points at 3,596.44 on turnover of 145.54 billion yuan (US$18.83 billion).
The Shanghai A-share Index was up 82.15 points or 2.22 percent at 3,780.61 on turnover of 144.72 billion yuan and the Shenzhen A-share Index rose 27.04 points or 2.72 percent at 1,019.98, also a new record, on turnover of 76.73 billion yuan.
The central bank set the yuan central parity rate at 7.7220 to the US dollar -- the highest level yet since the July 2005 revaluation of the Chinese currency.
"The market was boosted by solid corporate results announced by major blue chips and the strong yuan," said Xu Ming, an analyst at Shiji Investment.
Dealers said they expect the advance to continue in the near future.
"In the short run, as fresh capital continues flowing in and more blue chips announce their first-quarter results, the bullish trend will likely be sustained," said Zeng Bo, an analyst at Changjiang Securities (長江證券).
Banks posted solid gains on hopes for robust profits, with many of the companies expected to report a doubling of earnings, dealers said.
The Shanghai B-share Index was up 4.45 points or 2.34 percent at 194.77 on turnover of US$816.32 million, and the Shenzhen B-share Index added 7.79 points or 1.42 percent at 554.91, an all-time high, on turnover of HK$680.17 million (US$87.99 million).
Meanwhile, Chinese regulators will limit the number of mainland companies listing their shares solely in Hong Kong in a bid to encourage enterprises to join Chinese bourses, a report said yesterday.
Beijing has introduced an unofficial policy allowing Chinese companies to list in the city only if they seek more than US$1 billion or plan a simultaneous listing on the mainland, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed investment bankers and regulatory sources.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique