The solid performances of two large brokerage firms in the first quarter may boost current weak investor confidence, analysts said.

The CITIC Securities Co, China's largest broker, forecast its net profit for the first three months to grow more than 100 percent to over 2.5 billion yuan (US$357 million), the firm said yesterday in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

It attributed the growth to the steady development of businesses and their expansion.

Haitong Securities Co, another heavy weight player, said yesterday its net profit in the first quarter rose 29.2 percent year on year to 936 million yuan.

"It is a very sensitive period when most investors are losing confidence in the stock market. The stable performances of brokers might lift the mood of the pessimists," said Dai Ming, an analyst with the Kingsun Investment Management Co. Dai said the market had predicted negative performance results for brokers when two bourses in China posted a combined loss of 34 percent in the first three months, the biggest quarterly loss since 1992.

"The news of good results can at least assure investors that sufficient capital is flowing into the market," Dai said.

Shares of CITIC Securities gained 0.54 percent to 7.48 yuan yesterday while those of Haitong Securities surged 9.98 percent to 35.83 yuan.

(Shanghai Daily April 11, 2008)