By Dong Zhixin (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-10-11 17:04

China's equity market continues rocketing skywards as the Shanghai stock index made a fourth record this week following the close of the market on Thursday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surged by 2.46 percent, or 141.77 points, to close at 5,913.23 points. The index rose 9.31 percent in the past five sessions including Thursday, and an aggregate of 121.71 percent so far this year.

Blue-chips led the market rally, with Sinopec, China's largest oil refiner, alone contributing 35.26 points with an increase of 10 percent, the daily limit set by stock exchange authorities, to end at 21.75 yuan per share.

China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd continued its strong performance since its Shanghai debut on Tuesday, also hitting its 10 percent daily limit to end at 83.85 yuan. China's largest coal producer will be included in the Shanghai index starting on October 23.

Financial shares were the day's market stars. China Life soared 6.01 percent to 71.12 yuan, while the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China went up 2.64 percent to 7.79 yuan. China Minsheng Banking Corporation increased 4.20 percent to 17.38 yuan after it announced its profit in the first nine months is estimated to grow 70 percent year-on-year.

Thursday also saw the shares in China State Shipbuilding Co. hit 300 yuan apiece briefly, the first time for any stock in the mainland bourses, before easing a bit to 294.17 yuan due to profit-taking pressure.

Analysts attributed the latest market rally to investors' enthusiastic expectations about strong earnings growth in the third quarter and the imminent launch of the stock index futures.

Listed firms are required to release third quarter reports before the end of October. The market is expecting the stock index futures to start trading as early as next month, prompting institutional investors to snap up blue chips.

However, more than 70 percent of the stocks in the Shanghai bourse posted losses on Thursday, a further indication of the so-called "20/80 phenomenon". That means even though 80 percent of the stocks fall and only 20 percent of the stocks, mainly big caps, rise, the index is still in positive territory.

Other stock indices were mixed. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index lost 0.56 percent to 1,535.18 points. Some 436 A-shares declined, while 143 others rose.

The CSI 300 Index covering major companies in the two bourses gained 1.31 percent to 5,760.07 points.