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Banks help Shanghai index up slightly

SHANGHAI'S key stock index edged up in the morning session as concerns about liquidity eased. Banks gained while steel makers dropped.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index added 0.17 percent to 2,711.36 points. Turnover dropped to 37.9 billion yuan (US$5.74 billion) from yesterday morning's 52.8 billion yuan.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks the smaller mainland market, was up 0.5 percent at 1,186.08 points.

China's central bank halted regular bill sales in open-market operations this week after raising lenders' reserve requirements for a fourth time in two months last Friday.

Some analysts believed that the suspension is an effort to ensure market liquidity before the Chinese New Year, while others suggest that the central bank may be mulling another round of interest rate hikes as commercial banks require higher yielding.

Banks gained on positive earnings reports. China Everbright Bank added 1.3 percent to 3.83 yuan after saying 2010 profit rose 66 percent from a year earlier. Industrial Bank went up 2.5 percent to 25.71 yuan after it said 2010 profit was 40 percent higher than the previous year. China Construction Bank grew 1.3 percent to 4.77 yuan.

Steel makers dropped on concerns that government's efforts to curb inflation will slow economic growth and curb demand. Baoshan Iron & Steel Co fell 0.5 percent to 6.50 yuan. Angang Steel Co lost 1 percent to 7.61 yuan.

Metal producers and gold miners were mixed. Jiangxi Copper Co inched up 0.3 percent to 37.13 yuan. Shenzhen Zhongjin Lingnan Nonfemet Co shed 2.8 percent to 19.56 yuan. Zijin Mining Co, China's largest gold miner, went down 0.7 percent to 7.17 yuan.



 

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