Chinese shares rose Thursday, led by securities and metals, after regulators eased rules on major shareholders buying a company's shares in another move meant to boost slumping prices, reported ap. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.64 percent, or 80.69 points, to close at 2,297.50. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second market grew 3.15 percent to close at 607.794. Regulators announced they will let major shareholders in a company buy its shares up to 10 days before it reports financial results, easing a previous 30-day limit. That came after the government said earlier it would try to boost markets by encouraging state companies to buy back their own shares. «It seems that the government has achieved the goal of stopping the slide,» said Zhang Gang, strategist for Central China Securities. «The rebound has not finished yet, but whether it lasts will depend on later policies.» Securities brokerages rose sharply on expectations they will benefit from more trading activity. Citic Securities, the brokerage unit of China's biggest investment company, climbed by the daily limit of 10 percent to 23.08 yuan. Haitong Securities Co., also soared 10 percent, rising to 19.66 yuan. China United Telecommunications Corp., or Unicom, leapt 10 percent to 5.43 yuan after its parent company bought about 50 million Unicom shares in Shanghai on Wednesday. Steel producers and coal miners rebounded as investors hunted bargains following a price decline. Baoshan Iron & Steel Corp. advanced 9.49 percent to 7.15 yuan. Coal producer China Shenhua Energy Ltd. added 7.55 percent to 28.07 yuan. In currency markets, China's yuan strengthened to 6.8197 to the U.S. dollar, up from Wednesday's close of 6.8237.
