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"Citic Securities benefits a lot from the booming market," Bloomberg News said, citing Chen Shide, who manages the equivalent of US$212 million at GF Fund Management Co. "Also, company earnings have met investors' expectations so far."

ZTE Corp climbed on speculation the company will benefit from the nation's construction of a high-speed wireless network. Banks fell after UBS AG downgraded its rating on Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co on concern the stock has risen too much.

The Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks the bigger of domestic stock exchanges, rose 0.5 percent to 3,138.83. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which covers the smaller one, added one percent to 841.48.

Citic Securities, China's biggest publicly traded brokerage, climbed 0.74 yuan (nine US cents), or 1.8 percent, to 41.25 yuan. Hong Yuan Securities Co, the nation's first publicly traded brokerage, surged 0.67 yuan, or 3.2 percent, to 21.67 yuan.

The daily trading value for Shanghai's yuan-denominated A shares averaged 84.2 billion yuan this year, compared with 23.7 billion yuan last year, according to Bloomberg News.

The number of brokerage accounts has risen 10 percent this year to 86.4 million, according to China Securities Depository & Clearing Corp.

ZTE, China's biggest publicly traded phone-equipment maker, added 0.15 yuan, or 0.3 percent, to 45.35 yuan. China's government and phone companies plan to spend 26.7 billion yuan on the nation's first high-speed wireless network, the Beijing Morning Post reported, citing a government official.

China Mobile Communications Corp, China Telecommunications Corp and China Network Communications Group Corp will carry out trials for third-generation, or 3G, services based on a locally developed standard in 10 major cities this year, the report said, citing Ji Ling, vice mayor of Beijing.

Pudong Bank, the Chinese partner of Citigroup Inc, dropped 0.52 yuan, or two percent, to 25.31 yuan. The stock had its rating cut to "Neutral" from "Buy" at UBS.

"After a rise of 142 percent in six months, we now think the stock is fairly priced," analysts Victor Wang and Sally Ng wrote in a research note published today.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)