Shanghai index edges over 3300 mark, up 3.54%

An investor smiles in a brokerage in Huaibei, Anhui province, on Jan 15, 2014. [Asianewsphoto by Xie Zhengyi]

Chinese stocks made a comeback on Thursday after a week-long slump, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumping 3.54 percent.

Financial companies led the gain, with Huaxia Bank and Bank of China surging 6 percent, and Guoyuan Securities soaring more than 8 percent. Data released on Thursday shows that China's new yuan-denominated lending hit a record high at 9.78 trillion yuan ($1.58 trillion) last year.

The Shanghai Index closed at 3,336.46, up 1114.02 points, while Shenzhen Component Index advanced 2.19 percent to 11,483.68.

PetroChina and Sinopec, the country's biggest energy giants, soared 8.7 and 4.9 percent respectively amid the rebound of oil price.

Real estate developers rose on Thursday, as Shoukai Development topped the gain with the daily limit of 10 percent, followed by a more than 7 percent advance of China Merchants Property and Poly Real Estate Group.

State-owned railway vehicle manufacturers CNR and CSR jumped by the daily limit of 10 percent despite the inside trading allegation. The two companies are expected to merge as the world's biggest train maker.

The CSI 300 Index advanced 2.9 percent to 3,604.12 on Thursday.