SHANGHAI, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Chinese share prices rose 0.94 percent in Monday morning trade, shrugging off the government's decision to raise the required reserve ratio for the eighth time this year, dealers said.

They said banking stocks fell but quickly recovered as investors had already factored in the central bank's tightening move.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, ended the morning session up 55.70 points at 5,958.96, after hitting a new intraday high of 5,973.27, near the key psychological 6,000-points level.

On Saturday the central bank said it would raise from October 25 the reserve requirement by 0.5 percentage to 13 percent, in a move aimed at restricting the pace of banking loans.

"The central bank move is not aimed at stock prices, so the overall impact is small," said Hu Yu, an analyst at Chinalion Securities.

The action came just ahead of the five-yearly Communist Party Congress.

In his speech, President Hu Jintao touched on improving the structure of China's unbalanced economy and giving fuller play to the nation's booming capital markets.

"The market is more likely to be stable for the week, as the government is not willing to see big drops, (during)... the Party Congress," said Chinalion's Hu.

The Shanghai A-share Index rose 58.77 points or 0.95 percent to 6,255.75 and the Shenzhen A-share Index was up 1.15 points or 0.07 percent at 1,595.48.