BEIJING: Chinese stocks rose for a seventh day, with the Shanghai Composite Index approaching the 5,000 level for the first time since 2008 on gains for commodity and power producers.
PetroChina Co., the biggest stock in the benchmark index, rallied 2.3 percent, while Jiangxi Copper Co., the largest producer of the metal, jumped 5.1 percent. Huaneng Power International Inc. paced an advance for utilities, surging 4 percent. Brokerages slumped after GF Securities Co. and Haitong Securities Co. raised margin requirements for stock financing.
The Shanghai Composite increased 0.6 percent to 4,941.71 at the close, extending gains over the past seven days to 15 percent. The index swung between gains and losses at least nine times amid concern that new share sales will sap liquidity. Subscriptions for 23 initial public offerings including China National Nuclear Power Co. may lock up 4.9 trillion yuan ($790 billion) of liquidity starting early June, according to the median estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.8 percent at 3:37 p.m., while the Hang Seng Index slid 0.6 percent. The CSI 300 Index decreased 0.3 percent. The Bloomberg China-U.S. equity index dropped 1.5 percent on Tuesday.
