Chinese shares rebounded Thursday to a ten-week high on stronger March manufacturing data, led by blue chips, according to AP. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 38.31 points, or 1.2 percent, to 3,147.42. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second exchange rose 1.4 percent to 1,228.62. Investor sentiment was boosted by surveys issued by a Chinese business group and Hong Kong-based HSBC Corp. that showed strong demand in March for both exports and domestic sales, analysts said. Hopes for stronger economic growth outweighed worries over possible economic tightening policies, said Yu Haifeng, an analyst for Debon Securities in Shanghai. «Policies are turning downwards, but economy is going upwards. Investors are not too worried,» Yu said. Property shares gained on rising housing prices. Poly Real Estate Group, China's second-biggest developer, jumped 3 percent to 21.32 yuan, while industry leader China Vanke Ltd. rose 2.4 percent to 9.73 yuan. Nonferrous metal producers surged on stronger copper prices. China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co. climbed by 4.1 percent to 14.46 yuan, while Jiangxi Copper Ltd., the country's biggest metal producer, added 2.6 percent to 36.59 yuan. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China's biggest commercial lender, gained 1 percent to 5.03 yuan. China Construction Bank Ltd. advanced 0.7 percent at 5.71 yuan and Bank of China Ltd. edged up 0.5 percent to 4.31 yuan. In currency markets, the yuan weakened to 6.8265 to the U.S. dollar, down from Wednesday's close of 6.8259.
