Stocks advance as power firms report profit jump
(Shanghai Daily)Updated: 2007-03-07 14:21
Hong Yuan Securities Co, China's first publicly traded brokerage, rallied 1.47 yuan, or 7.2 percent, to 21.91 yuan.
The daily trading value for Shanghai's yuan-denominated A shares averaged 81.6 billion yuan this year, compared with 23.7 billion yuan in 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Huaneng Power International Inc, the listed unit of China's largest power group, rose 0.17 yuan, or 2.1 percent, to 8.24 yuan. China Yangtze Power Co, owner of the world's biggest hydropower project, advanced 0.39 yuan, or 3.4 percent, to 11.76 yuan. GD Power Development Co, the Shanghai-listed unit of one of China's five largest electricity producers, added 0.43 yuan, or 4.3 percent, to 10.45 yuan.
China's five biggest power companies had combined profits of 26.4 billion yuan last year as prices increased and they expanded capacity, according to Xinhua. Total profits exceeded analyst estimates, it said.
China's power consumption in 2006 rose 14 percent to 2,824.8 million megawatt hours, China Electricity Council said in January.
Power producers are still adding capacity to supply electricity to carmakers, factories and petrochemical plants in the world's fastest-growing major economy. The nation had a fourth straight year of power shortage last year when consumption peaked in summer.
A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, including copper and zinc, gained 1.4 percent. Copper climbed 1.5 percent in London and gold added 1.1 percent in New York.
Anhui Tongdu Copper Stock Co, China's second-largest copper producer by output, advanced 0.16 yuan, or 1.7 percent, to 9.88 yuan. Yunnan Copper Industry Co, the third largest, gained 0.41 yuan, or 2.6 percent, to 16.52 yuan. Zhongjin Gold Corp, China's largest publicly traded gold miner by market value, rose 1.47 yuan, or 4.9 percent, 31.20 yuan.
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