Large-cap stocks rebounded yesterday after a four-day decline, pushing up the index by 1.18 percent.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 65.21 points to close at 5601.78. Gainers outnumbered losers 492 to 340. Turnover on the Shanghai bourse amounted to 76.3 billion yuan - the lowest since mid-July.

The Shenzhen Component Index climbed 0.62 percent, or 112.39 points, to close at 18232.96. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.92 percent to close at 29708.93.

Analysts said large-cap stocks saw a technical rebound after dropping for four days. "Strong corporate fundamentals also supported the upswing of the large-caps," said Wu Feng, an analyst at TX Investment Consulting Co Ltd.

The rising Hang Seng Index also lifted dual-listed stocks on the mainland stock market yesterday.

The shrinking turnover showed that investors are cautious about buying and selling stocks, unsure where the market is going after the index slipped below the 6000-point barrier, analysts said.

Meanwhile, the number of new A-share accounts opened on Tuesday shrank to 153,963, the lowest in two months, according to the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corp Ltd.

Large-cap stocks led the rally yesterday. PetroChina jumped 1.1 percent to close at 40.43 yuan, after falling 17.7 percent from Monday's opening price. Other oil companies, such as Sinopec, increased 2.24 percent to close at 24.21 yuan.

Banks rose as bargain hunters began to increase low-priced stock holdings. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China surged 4.78 percent to close at 8.55 yuan, while Bank of China rose 3.8 percent to close at 7.37 yuan. China Construction Bank jumped 3.01 percent to close at 10.95 yuan.

Non-ferrous and coal stocks rose yesterday on the weakening US dollar. Jiangxi Copper soared 5.64 percent to close at 58.82 yuan. Baotou Aluminum jumped 3.24 percent to close at 55.81 yuan. China Shenhua Energy increased 2.39 percent to close at 74.04 yuan.

(China Daily November 8, 2007)