A-Shares Post Slim Gains, Securities Leap

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.25% to close at 3031.07, while the Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.26% to end at 1161.4 on Friday, March 5. Trading volume on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges was RMB 105.7 billion and RMB 76.7 billion, respectively, while gaining Shanghai shares outnumbered losers 519 to 317. The CSI 300 Index rose 0.28% to close at 3259.76.

Brokerages made up ground on Friday following declines the previous day, after China's securities regulator said that stock index futures trading would likely launch in April, while trials for margin trading and short selling would begin before that, 163.com reports. Everbright Securities (601788.SH) rose 3.92% and Hong Yuan Securities Co (000562.SZ) added on 2.55%, while Changjiang Securities (000783.SZ) and China Merchants Securities (600999.SH) both gained around 2.4%. Securities companies had recorded large declines on Thursday.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also said Friday morning that China will actively expand direct fundraising and financing via stocks and securities; perfect a multi-tiered capital market; and strengthen the effective supervision of cross-border capital flows, yicai.com reports quoting Wen's government work report at the Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress.

Agricultural shares continued to fall off Wednesday highs, despite Premier Wen Jiabao's statement that China will budget RMB 818.3 billion to agriculture, farmers and rural areas in 2010, RMB 93 billion more than the previous year, according to another report from yicai.com.

Port operators extended gains from earlier in the week, due to a National Business Daily report saying that the National Development and Reform Commission had submitted an economic development plan for Shandong province, which included the construction of a steel production base, to the State Council, according to a Sina report on Thursday. Liaoning province-based Yingkou Port Liability (600317.SH), one of Shanghai's most heavily traded stocks on Friday, led the pack by growing 6.74%, while Shandong-based Rizhao Port Co. (600017.SH) rose 4% and Shanghai International Port Group (600018.SH) grew 3.36%.