Shanghai key index stages a technical rebound

Chinese shares opened higher in response to a rally on the U.S. market and news that stimulus measures may be introduced by securities regulator, but finally ended mixed on Wednesday as most stocks suffered sell-offs.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, edged up 0.56% or 18.72 to 3,347.88 points after fluctuating between 3,464.53 and 3,283.64 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange failed to see a gain. It edged down 0.93% or 116.39 points to 12,344.24 points after touching an intraday low of 12,100.49 points.

The combined turnover on the two bourses expanded a bit to RMB 121.5 billion from RMB 109.3 billion of the previous trading day.

Reports on Wednesday said China's central government urged securities regulator to maintain a stable and sound development of capital market.

Heavy weights in financial sector outperformed yesterday. China Life<601628><2628>, the nation's largest insurer, surged 8.65% to RMB 30.40 and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) <601398><1398>, the largest lender, rose 3.33% to RMB 6.20.

Energy caps also contributed to the upward movement of the Shanghai key index. Sinopec<600028><386>, the biggest oil refiner, gained 3.68% to RMB 12.11 and China Shenhua Energy<601088><1088> climbed2.59% to RMB 41.14.

It is noteworthy that Hainan Huandao Industry Co., Ltd<000691> witnessed an eight-straight loss of 10% to RMB 6.05 yesterday. The stock once rose largely for a time before starting its dropping stream.

As a whole, losers outweighed gainers by 753 to 85 in Shanghai and 635 to 37 in Shenzhen.