Wednesday, May 14, 2008

China Construction companies receive boost from earthquake

http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/05/14/afx5006501.html BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China A-shares closed higher, with nonferrous metals and cement companies leading the gains on expectations of higher demand after Monday's Sichuan earthquake, dealers said.

A significant rebound by banks also helped to boost the market.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed up 97.19 points or 2.73 pct at 3,657.43.

Turnover fell to 122.32 bln yuan from 122.66 bln in the previous session.

'The earthquake did not change the uptrend of the market, which received sustained support from regulators,' said Jin Hongming, an analyst at Guotai Junan Securities.

'More new stock funds are also entering the market, and fund managers generally favor large caps like banks,' Jin added.