China stocks extend rallies on Thursday

BEIJING -- Chinese shares continued to rise on Thursday thanks to strong performance of heavyweights including brokerages and banks.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 1.83 percent to close at 3,522.82 points, marking a new high since August 21, while the smaller Shenzhen index gained 0.46 percent to close at 11,939.81 points.

Total turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses stood at 1.37 trillion yuan ($216.15 billion), up from 994.1 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Thursday's gains came after the release of service sector data indicating recovery of the economy. The Caixin China General Services Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 52 in October, up from 50.5 in September.

The rebound in service data reflected the better structure of the Chinese economy and the effect of government support measures, said He Fan, chief economist at Caixin Insight Group.

Companies in finance, oil refining and steel making led the rise. CITIC Securities, a leading brokerage firm, jumped 7.44 percent to 18.64 yuan per share, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, a major heavyweight, rose 2.55 percent to 5.22 yuan per share.

But the ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.76 percent to close at 2,564.72 points.