China shares close higher after disappointing August

BEIJING -- Chinese equity markets kicked September off with boosted trading on Monday, as investors looked for undervalued shares after sharp declines in August.

After tumbling more than 2.7 percent to a 43-month low in August, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index bounced 0.57 percent to close at 2,059.15 points on Monday.

The Shenzhen Component Index jumped 1.84 percent to close at 8,361.67 points.

China's manufacturing activity worsened further in August, with the purchasing managers index falling to a nine-month low of 49.2 percent, suggesting that the sector is still struggling amid sluggish demand at home and abroad.

However, aggressive investors still scooped up shares they deemed undervalued after steep declines in share prices since the beginning of the year.

Chinese equity markets posted the world's worst performance since the beginning of 2012, with the Shenzhen index losing 7.94 percent and the Shanghai index softening more than 6 percent in the January-August period.

More shares changed hands on Monday, with combined turnover rising sharply to 101.03 billion yuan ($15.93 billion) from 76.87 billion yuan on Friday.

Gainers outnumbered losers by 829 to 108 in Shanghai and 1,420 to 85 in Shenzhen.

Property developers gained, as September and October are traditionally busy times for housing sales.

China Vanke, the country's largest property developer by market value, rose 3.37 percent to close at 8.29 yuan per share. Poly Estate surged 7.65 percent to close at 10.13 yuan. China Merchants Property rose 5.39 percent to close at 120.34 yuan. The Gemdale Group rallied 4.18 percent to 5.23 yuan.

Brokerage firms were higher, as a pilot program for stock and money lending is expected to boost market turnover and benefit brokerages. Hongyuan Securities, the country's first listed brokerage firm, moved up 4.6 percent to 8.64 yuan. Western Securities gained 2.78 percent to 13.29 yuan.

Chinese banks underperformed due to concerns over possible increases in bad loans amid the economic slowdown. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's largest lender, fell 1.31 percent to close at 3.77 yuan. China Construction Bank and Bank of China both lost more than 1 percent to end at 3.98 yuan and 2.75 yuan, respectively.