Chinese share prices rebounded by 1.88 percent on Tuesday with the Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, closed at 5,285.45 points at the end of morning session.

The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller bourse ended at 17,213.70 points, up 0.87 percent.

The rise came after a fund has been approved to open for additional subscriptions late this week, which is believed to be a new signal from the government to back up the stock market.

On November 4, China's Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued a notice ordering fund firms not to expand the promised scale of their funds within six months.

Heavy weights drove up the share prices. Sinopec went up by 6.58 percent while the new market heavy weight PetroChina by 2.88 percent. China Shenhua rose by 2.36 percent.

Steel shares also jumped, with Baosteel, the nation's biggest steel producer, rising 4.10 percent to 15.75 yuan, and with Anyang steel up by 9.39 percent to 10.25 yuan.

On Monday, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.4 percent, or 127.81 points, to close at 5,187.73 points, after falling to as low as 5,032.58 points in intra-day trading.

Last week, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 8 percent to 5,315.54, the biggest weekly loss during the past nine years.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2007)