2010-08-02 16:30

BEIJING - Chinese shares advanced Monday with coal producer shares rising across the board after China discovered a large coal field in northeast Liaoning province.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.33 percent, or 35.01 points, to end at 2,672.52 points.

The Shenzhen Stock Index climbed 2.03 percent, or 219.4 points, to 11,004.74 points.

Total turnover expanded to 209.41 billion yuan ($31.25 billion) from 181.87 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Coal producer shares led the advance Monday after reserves estimated at 1 billion tons were found in Liaoning. It is one of the largest coal fields discovered in Northeast China in two decades.

Lifted by the news, China Shenhua Energy Co, China's largest coal producer, gained 1.34 percent to 24.07 yuan per share while China Coal Energy Co, the second largest, climbed 1.82 percent to 10.03 yuan per share.

Beverage makers posted big gains on Monday after Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co, the country's third biggest brewer, said Friday its first-half net profit jumped 25.2 percent year on year to 399 million yuan.

The brewer's A-share price surged 5.01 percent to 21.58 yuan at the close. Tsingtao Brewery Co climbed 1.44 percent to 35.16 yuan per share while Kweichow Moutai Co, a leading white liquor producer, advanced 3.52 percent to 143.55 yuan per share.

Financial and property stocks were also broadly higher Monday on hopes that the government might refrain from introducing more restrictive policies after the Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 51.2 percent in July from 52.1 percent in June.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China's biggest lender, advanced 1.39 percent to 4.37 yuan per share. China Vanke Ltd edged up 0.36 percent to 8.32 yuan.