China share prices gained Friday with the key Shanghai Composite Index
closing at its highest level in more than 16 months, as metal shares continued
to rise on strong international metal prices. The yuan fell against the U.S.
dollar.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.2 percent to 1,342.97, its
highest closing level since Nov. 26, 2004, when it settled at 1,356.73. The
Shenzhen Composite Index rose 0.6 percent to 339.49.
"Despite the strong performance of metal shares, the possibility of a
technical correction in the general market is increasing, as the heavy trading
volume in the past several sessions reflects divergent market views," said Simon
Wang, a strategist at Xiangcai Securities.
Metal shares rose sharply after fund buying pushed copper and zinc prices to
fresh record highs in the London Metal Exchange on Thursday.
Hunan Zhuye Torch Metals hit the 10 percent upside limit at 6.04 yuan. Yunnan
Copper rose 2.0 percent to 7.07 and Shenzhen Zhongjin Linnan Nonferrous Metal
gained 2.4 percent to 15.19.
But large-capitalized stocks were hit by profit-taking. CITIC Securities fell
0.7 percent to 8.09, China Yangtze Power shed 1.2 percent to 6.45 and China
Merchants Bank lost 2.4 percent to 6.65.
Worries that regulators might allow initial public offerings to resume after
a year's suspension for shareholding reforms are still weighing on sentiment,
analysts said.
"The market will experience more profit-taking next week, as people are
worried IPOs may resume in May and pressure liquidity," said Zhou Ji, an analyst
at Haitong Securities.
In currency dealings, the U.S. dollar closed at 8.0110 on the automatic
price-matching system. It ended at 8.0080 on Thursday after the yuan hit 8.0050,
its highest level against the dollar since a revaluation in
July.