By Ding Qi (Chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-08-02 11:58

Wednesday's stock market tumble doesn't seem to have inhibited the index's overall upward movement. Most stocks recovered strongly during morning trading on Thursday amid investors' blazing hopes for another new high.

The Shanghai Composite Index opened at 4,316.57 points, 16 points higher than Wednesday's close, and then surged rapidly above the 4,400 point level in the morning. Although having retreated a bit near noon, the index still gained 1.53 percent by 11:30 am. Half-time trading value of the market reached 76.2 billion yuan, smaller than yesterday's morning session.

The Shenzhen Component Index, in a similar move, regained its 15,000-point position quickly after a high opening of 14,901.78 points.The morning trading ended at 15,222.93 points with a turnover of 42.2 billion yuan.

                               Shanghai Composite Index
                                 source:www.sina.com.cn

By 11:30 am, in the two markets 1242 stocks gained, only 127 stayed flat and 91 lost value. Shares of steel, construction materials, mining, and real estate sectors led the morning's rebound. Shares of Fushun Special Steel clinched the maximum rise of 10 percent. Qingsong Jianhua, a cement company located in Xinjiang, also shot up to the upper limit.

Blue ships like Sinopec and Baoshan Iron & Steel were all among the gainers. China Life, the nation's leading insurer, also reversed recent losses with one percent rise.

Market watchers said yesterday's dive may be the lagged impact of the reserve ratio hike and other monetary tightening measures. Huge selling pressure as well as ripple effects from neighboring markets also contributed to yesterday's plunge.

However, the correction is widely believed to be a healthy one, helping squeeze the short-term bubbles and spurring the index higher in the coming days. If so, the morning's recovery may serve as a perfect footnote.