China's shares ended higher Wednesday after hitting a fresh four-year low a day earlier, following news that the United States will slap quotas on some Chinese textile imports having no discernible impact.

The benchmark Shanghai composite index, grouping hard-currency B shares for foreigners and yuan-denominated A shares, jumped 1.7 percent to 1,338.870 points in a technical rebound.

The Shenzhen sub-index climbed up by 1.2 percent to 3,147.9 points.

The Bush administration said on Tuesday it would impose import quotas on Chinese knit fabrics, bras and dressing gowns, a decision analysts said could intensify Sino-US trade disputes.

But textile firms averted the sell-off that hit counterparts in Hong Kong, mainly because the news had not spread to investors that often rely on the domestic media, brokers said.

Traders said the news had not been widely reported in mainland newspapers and so initial reaction there had been muted.

"Most of the textile stocks have been hit by the news. It's mainly affecting sentiment, as not all of those firms make those products," said Kenny Tang, associate director at Tung Tai Securities.

In any case, the few textile counters on the bourse were small and thus should not impact trading sentiment overall, brokers said.

"Textile counters will have limited room to fall as they have suffered a lot from the recent hike of cotton prices, and a government decision to cut export rebates," said analyst Song Huaisong of Fujian Xingye Securities.

Jiangsu Sainty Co Ltd, one of China's top five dressing gown exporters to the United States, actually rose 1.54 percent to 7.91 yuan (96 US cents), tracking the market.

A spokesman for Jiangsu Sainty said the company, along with other textile exporters, was now discussing with a trade body whether to take any joint action against the US decision.

Shares in Chengde Dixian Textile Co Ltd, another textile exporter, rose 1.94 percent to HK$4.21 (54 US cents), while garment maker Shanghai Kaikai edged up 1.1 percent to 55.6 US cents.

Tech stocks led yesterday's gains on news the government had kicked off plans to broadcast digital TV across the nation by 2015, brokers said.

The move could create a market for digital products worth more than 600 billion yuan (US$72.5 billion), State media reported yesterday.

Soyea Technology Co, a digital video and audio products maker, surged its daily limit of 10 percent to 6.42 yuan (77.6 US cents), while Hunan TV & Broadcast Intermediary Industry Co Ltd jumped 6.12 percent to 10.92 yuan (US$1.32).

"But investors remained cautious after a recent sell-off, as the market would find it hard to stage a wider rebound in the near term due to a shortage of funds," Song said.

Despite yesterday's gains, the Shanghai index is still down 17.9 percent since mid-April, battered by a bursting IPO pipeline and a government-ordered tightening of bank loans.

Index heavyweight Yangtze Electric Power Co Ltd, the firm running China's Three Gorges Dam project, was the day's most active counter, rising 0.97 percent to 6.24 yuan (75.4 US cents).

It had leapt 45 percent on its debut on Tuesday, buoyed by strong prospects.

China's yuan ended unchanged versus the US dollar at 8.2767, remaining at the stronger end of its managed trading range.

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday there is no clear evidence that China's yuan is substantially undervalued, countering claims by US exporters that the currency has been kept artificially low to give Chinese exports an advantage.

(China Daily November 20, 2003)