SHANGHAI

Shares end flat

Chinese mainland's shares closed mostly flat yesterday, one day after the key index dipped below a crucial support level which spurred technical buying in large caps. The benchmark Shanghai composite index closed 0.06 per cent higher at 1,097.782 points.

China Minsheng Banking Corp, the country's first private lender, ended 0.57 per cent higher at 3.51 yuan (43 US cents), after diving 27 per cent on Wednesday as it joined a programme to float non-traded state shares.

Other actively traded stocks included Wuhan Iron and Steel Co Ltd, China's third biggest steel producer, which gained 1.75 per cent to 3.49 yuan (43 US cents). Bargain hunters had piled in after the counter shed 5.2 per cent this week due to an 18 per cent slide in its third-quarter earnings.

"Technical buying in some large-caps helped the index bounce slightly, but market sentiment remains weak," said analyst Zhang Yong at Shanghai Securities.

(China Daily 10/28/2005 page10)