BEIJING: Chinese stocks climbed for a seventh day, sending the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index to its highest level since 2008, as gains by industrial companies offset losses in airlines.
China Railway Group Co. and China Railway Construction Corp. rallied by the 10 percent daily limit to lead rail stocks higher. Tencent Holdings Ltd. rose 1.9 percent in Hong Kong after reporting a 50 percent jump in quarterly profit. Air China Ltd. and China Eastern Airlines Co. declined more than 4 percent after crude rallied the most in about three weeks in New York yesterday.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.5 percent to 3,593.81 at 1:04 p.m., erasing earlier losses of 0.9 percent. The gauge climbed 77 percent during the past 12 months through yesterday as investors bet monetary stimulus will revive an economy beset by four years of slowing growth. The value of shares traded today were more than double the 30-day average for this time of day.
