By Li Zengxin (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-08-03 12:41

Chinese stocks kept surging this morning as the Shanghai Composite Index closing at 4,492.23 by the noon break, up 84.5 points or 1.92 percent from yesterday's closing. Total turnover of the stocks enclosed by the major indices was 133.8 billion yuan.

Opening higher from 4,440.98, the benchmark index went through the session above the previous closing level. There had been frequent short-ranged swings but none of the drawbacks were deep enough to reverse an upward trend in general. The index hit the lowest 4,438.96 soon after the opening but toughed the highest 4,497.43 around 10:32.

The Shenzhen Component Index, tracking the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange, closed at a record high of 15,972.79, 410.66 points or 2.64 percent higher than yesterday''s closing. Opening higher from 15,699.74, it went through the morning session within a range from 15,699.74 to 15,974.41.

Of the A shares listed on the two exchanges, 659 went up while 661 closed down and 142 ended flat. Stocks in the real estate, retail and wholesale, and mining industries led the surge. Real estate developer China Vanke, the largest trader in Shenzhen, rose 5 percent. Large cap financial shares the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Minsheng Banking Corp, on top of the trading volume and transaction value list, surged more than 3 percent to lift the index up.

Recovering from a month and half-long sluggish performance since May 30, the stock market seemed to have started another round of surges to higher grounds recently, which largely brought back investor confidence. The new A share account opening returned to the above 100,000 level since last Monday and remained on that level. This Monday, it hit 163,451, the highest in a month.

In addition, a survey by the China Securities Association showed that 60 percent of investors are optimistic about the performance in the remaining months this year.

However, the survey also concluded that individual investors are inclined to make irrational decisions against their risk-aversion attitudes.

On one hand, over 60 percent of individual investors said they prefer long-term, stable returns and are tolerant to 20 percent loss at most. On the other side, however, more than half of the investors have mostly made short-run speculations by selling stocks in less than three months after purchase, implying their longing for faster and higher profit margins accompanied with higher risks.

At the same time, the banking regulator is keeping a close eye on illegal funds flowing to the stock market. The commission has been always vigilant on bank loans entering the market and will continue focusing on preventing such behavior, said Hao Aiqun, director of the first supervision division of the China Banking Regulatory Commission yesterday.