Chinese shares up 3.8% in morning trade

BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares extended winning streak on Wednesday morning, led by financials on market talk of further government measures to boost the market.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, rose 3.77 percent to finish morning trade at 3,656.35.

Analysts said the rally came amid market talk that the government would introduce margin trading and short-selling during the May Day holiday.

The two practices allow investors to buy stocks with borrowed money from brokerages and sell shares they don't own, respectively.

Citic Securities, the nation's largest publicly traded brokerage, jumped 7.44 percent to 39.58 yuan. Haitong Securities added 6.73 percent to 51.41 yuan.

China Life rose 6.05 percent to 35.95 yuan. Ping An Insurance climbed 6.07 percent to 69.00 yuan after reporting late Tuesday 25.2 percent growth in first quarter net profit.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained 3.10 percent to 6.65 yuan after posting 76 percent growth in first quarter profit. Bank of Communications was up 2.77 percent to 10.77 yuan after it said first quarter profit doubled.

PetroChina, the most heavily weighted stock on the key Shanghai index, rose 5.69 percent to 18.03 yuan. China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (Sinopec) surged 9.98 percent to 12.56 yuan.