Chinese stock market rises slightly on Thursday

Chinese mainland stock market closed higher yesterday, driven by strong performance by industrial stocks and blue chips.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange climbed up 47.05 points, or 0.89%, to close at 5,319.86 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange ended at 17,911.30 points, up 55.15 points, or 0.31%

The combined turnover of the two bourses totaled RMB 254.42 billion, a big step forward compared with the previous day's RMB 201.38 billion.

Among all A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, 668 stocks enjoyed rise, 169 stocks lost and 63 stayed unchanged.

Gold futures rose 2.6% to US$860 an ounce in New York yesterday, the highest closing price in the trading history, boosted by weakening U.S. dollar and higher energy costs.

Pushed by the international hike of gold price, gold producers made a big movement yesterday. Zhongjin Gold<600489>, China's biggest publicly traded gold miner by market value, jumped the daily cap of 10%, or RMB 11.42 to RMB 125.58. Shandong Gold Mining Co<600547>, the second-largest, also enjoyed the daily cap surge, or RMB 17.42, to RMB 191.6.

The oil contract yesterday hit US$100 a barrel. Oil markers grasped the chance to gain. PetroChina <601857><857>, the nation's biggest oil producer and a key heavyweight in the market, climbed 1.64%, or RMB 0.5, to RMB 31.08.

However, sectors that rely largely on oil consumption such as airline stocks suffered losses by the news.

Air China<601111> <753>, the world's biggest airline by market value, shed 1.89%, or RMB 0.56, to RMB 29.09. China Eastern<600115> <670>, the nation's third-largest carrier, fell 3.38%, or RMB 0.73, to RMB 20.84, and China Southern Airlines<600029> <1055>, the nation's biggest carrier by fleet size, was down 3.07%, or RMB 0.88, to finish at RMB 27.80.