Mainland stocks lifted by gains in tech shares

Chinese mainland stocks rose on Thursday, aided by an afternoon rally in technology shares as a US trade delegation arrived in Beijing for key talks over tariffs and other issues.

The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.78 percent to 3,793.00 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.64 percent to 3,100.86 points.

The CSI300 index was up thanks to its financial sector sub-index higher by 0.48 percent, the consumer staples sector up 1.24 percent, the real estate index down 0.25 percent and the healthcare sub-index up 0.22 percent.

The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 1.12 percent and the start-up board ChiNext index was higher by 1.4 percent.

Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.61 percent while Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 0.16 percent.

The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite Index were Triumph Science & Technology Co up 10.06 percent, followed by Hunan Copote Science Technology Co gaining 10.03 percent and Well Lead Medical Co up by 10.03 percent.

The largest percentage losers in the Shanghai index were Henan Huanghe Whirlwind Co down 8.55 percent, followed by Xishui Strong Year Co Inner Mongolia losing 7.78 percent and Shenzhen Huiding Technology Co down by 7.01 percent. So far this year, the Shanghai stock index is down 6.2 percent, while the CSI300 has fallen 5.9 percent. Shanghai stocks have risen 0.61 percent this month so far.

About 14 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 89.2 percent of the market’s 30-day moving average of 15.70 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 13.42 billion.