BEIJING, June 8 -- Shanghai shares soared yesterday, led by heavily weighted big caps but analysts sounded a caution of a short-term correction.

They advised investors to take the opportunity to buy blue chips as the bullish sentiment continues in the long run.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which groups both yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B chips, rose 3.03 percent to end at 3,890.80. Turnover reached 180.2 billion yuan (23.56 billion U.S. dollars), against 177.26 billion yuan on Wednesday.

The A-share index gained 3.05 percent to 4,080.27 while the B-share index added 1.26 percent to 287.32.

"The market is set to continue climbing after huge losses in the past week," said Dong Boming, an analyst at Huatai Securities Co Ltd. "Market confidence in further gains is obvious as transaction of big caps remains active."

Wu Zuyao, an analyst at China Galaxy Securities Co Ltd, said in the coming sessions, "investors should focus on companies with a robust bottom line to bolster gains and shun risks of losses."

Heavily weighted big caps led yesterday's gains in Shanghai.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp or Sinopec, Asia's top oil refiner, rose four percent to 14.82 yuan. China Yangtze Power Co, operator of the world's biggest hydropower project, gained 2.27 percent to 13.04 yuan.

Baoshan Iron & Steel Co, China's largest steel maker, advanced 2.25 percent to 11.35 yuan. China United Telecommunications Corp, the country's second-largest mobile operator, climbed 1.29 percent to 5.49 yuan.

Among lenders, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the nation's largest publicly traded lender, inched up 0.6 percent to 5.07 yuan. Bank of China, the second-largest bank by assets, added 0.58 percent to 5.20 yuan.

While the outlook seems good for the market to continue climbing, analysts also said investors should consider risks of more interest hikes, taking into account rising inflation.

The Consumer Price Index, an indicator of the nation's inflation, gained three percent in April.

The National Bureau of Statistics is set to release the May data on Tuesday.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)