Stocks close higher in post-holiday trade

CHINA stocks rose on the first working day after the weeklong National Day holiday, led by gains in the agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries sector and building materials shares.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.29 percent higher at 2,913.57 points yesterday. The smaller Shenzhen Component Index also rose 0.3 percent to 9,474.75 points, while the blue-chip CSI300 index advanced 0.61 percent to 3,837.68 points.

Total turnover expanded slightly to 373.06 billion yuan compared with the 352.51 billion yuan in the previous session.

Most industry sectors saw gains, according to data from Wind Information.

Stocks of 49 companies listed on the A-share markets surged by the daily limit of 10 percent.

The agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries sector led the rise, with Donlinks International Investment Co and WanXiang Doneed Co topping the maximum 10 percent.

Real-estate shares were also among the biggest gainers.

Guangdong Shirongzhaoye Co rose 7.51 percent while Jiangsu Zhongnan Construction Group Co jumped by over 6 percent.

The building materials sector, banks, home appliances shares, and food and beverage firms all preformed well in the session.

In terms of the new STAR market, however, 31 of the total 33 listed companies declined, with only Hillstone Networks Co advancing 9.38 percent and Micro-Tech (Nanjing) Co up 0.6 percent.