(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-05 17:36

Chinese shares rose on Wednesday with the steel, nonferrous metal, new energy and medical instrument sectors leading the way.

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Baoshan Iron and Steel remained strong after gaining more than five percent on Tuesday upon rumors about a possible bid by its parent company, Baosteel Group, for mining giant Rio Tinto.

Baoshan shares rose 6.63 percent to 16.56 yuan (US$2.2), helping to drive up the whole steel sector.

Gansu Jiu Steel Group and Liuzhou Iron and Steel soared to the daily 10 percent limit, while Wuhan Iron and Steel, rose 8.45 percent to 16.69 yuan.

China Railway Group, which made a strong debut on the Shanghai bourse on Monday when its shares rose 68.54 percent higher than its 4.8 yuan initial public offering price, increased 8.3 percent to close at 8.48 yuan.

The railway construction firm will launch on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday.

According to a report by Shanghai Securities News and Shenyin-Wanguo Securities Research Institute, capital available for equity trading amounted to 1.78 trillion yuan at the end of November. Last month alone, 120 billion yuan was made available to bolster the lackluster domestic market.

In Wednesday trading, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 126.76 points, or 2.58 percent, to close at 5,042.65.

The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange ended at 16,569.81 points, up 504.64 points, or 3.14 percent.

Gains outnumbered losses by 799 to 74 in Shanghai, and by 623 to 41 in Shenzhen.

The combined turnover of the two bourses climbed to 117.48 billion yuan (US$15.9 billion) from 87.3 billion yuan Tuesday.

PetroChina, the country's largest oil producer which accounts for around 25 percent of all counters for the major index in Shanghai, fortified the gains it made on Tuesday by rising 2.78 percent on Wednesday to close at 31.44 yuan.

Other heavyweights also consolidated.

China Life, the country's biggest life insurer, rose 2.27 percent to 59.47 yuan, while the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was up 2.94 percent to 8.39 yuan. Bank of China increased 1.82 percent to 6.7 yuan, and China Construction Bank was up 1.94 percent to 10.51 yuan.

The Hushen 300 Index, which tracks one fifth of all stocks traded in the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, closed at 4,965.95 points, up 136.74 points, or 2.83 percent, from the previous trading day.