Chinese shares jump 3.08 percent in morning trade

Chinese share prices jumped 3.08 percent in Wednesday morning trade led by a rally in financial stocks, dealers said.

They said the key index found some support after it broke through 3,000 points on Tuesday. Banks and brokerages were favoured because of reasonable prices and growth potential.

China Merchants Bank jumped over three percent after it reported a 157 percent surge in first-quarter net profit.

PetroChina's rebound also helped support the market, as it gained on record high crude prices, while a government subsidy and a tax rebate were seen as compensating losses in the refining sector.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks yuan-denominated A shares and hard-currency B shares, jumped 3.08 percent, or 97.06 points, to 3,244.86 at 11:30am.

The index, the world's second worst performer after Vietnam this year, has dropped nearly half from its peak of 6,092.06 points since October 16. It dipped below 3,000 points yesterday but bounced back in late afternoon trading.

Gainers in the Shanghai market outnumbered losers 722 to 112, while 19 were unchanged.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the mainland's smaller stock market, was up 3.02 percent, or 27.68 points, to 943.42.

"Investor confidence is recovering with expectations of more market-boosting policies to be announced," said Hua Xin, an analyst at Founder Securities.

The securities regulators issued new rules to support the market on Sunday by placing curbs on the sale of non-tradable shares, once they exit lock-up periods.

"The A-share market does not lack capital, but investor confidence," Hua added.

The Shanghai A-share index gained 101.81 points or 3.08 percent to 3,404.90 points, while the Shenzhen A-share index was up 29.23 points or 3.05 percent to 988.83.

(Agencies)