Chinese equities closed 0.72 percent up Thursday to stand at 2425.29 points, setting a new high since late August last year, echoing the overnight Wall Street rebound and the Asian markets rally Thursday.

The Shanghai Composite Index gained 17.27 points, or 0.72 percent to 2,425.29. The Shenzhen Component Index rose 144.91 points, or 1.58 percent to 9,300.92.

Losses outnumbered gains by 516 to 342 in Shanghai and by 384 to 342 in Shenzhen.

Combined turnover expanded to 258.2 billion yuan (US$37.8 billion) Thursday from 250.67 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Chinese shares opened higher Thursday, tracking the overnight Wall Street gains, amid investors' expectation for more economic stimulus moves at the G20 summit, dealers said.

The insurance sector boosted the index as investors forecast favorable policies to be announced by the industry regulator this week, which would allow medium and small-sized domestic insurers to invest directly in the stock market.

China Life rose 2.81 percent to 23.76 yuan, while China Pacific Insurance jumped 3.87 percent to 17.17 yuan.

Four Chinese commercial lenders --Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Bank of Communications (BoCom), China Minsheng Banking Corp. and Industrial Bank Co.-- had been given direct access to gold futures trading on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, the first time for domestic banks to become gold exchange trading members, according to Thursday's Shanghai Securities News.

ICBC, the Beijing-based world's largest lender in terms of market value, picked up 0.5 percent to 3.99 yuan, while BoCom bounced 2 percent to 6.62 yuan, with China Minsheng up 2.73 percent to 5.26 yuan and the eastern Fujian-based Industrial Bank up 3.28 percent to 23.65 yuan.

China Oilfield Services Ltd. rose 0.54 percent to 14.81 yuan, as the country's leading oilfield service provider reported Thursday that its net profit last year increased 38.6 percent year on year to 3.1 billion yuan.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2009)