China: Shares rebound as first stock options debut

[SHANGHAI] China stocks closed up on Monday, recovering from slides the previous week, as excitement around the launch of the country's first stock options offset worries over the economy following worse-than-expected trade data.

Index heavyweights including banking and insurance shares climbed after China's first options, based on the exchange-trade fund (ETF), began trading in Shanghai. Euter The underlying ETF tracks the SSE50 index, composed of the 50 most heavily weighted stocks on the bourse, reflecting regulators' desire to guide money into blue chips.

The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose 1.0 percent, to 3,345.92, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6 percent, to 3,095.12 points.

Among the most active stocks in Shanghai were Bank Of China , up 0.5 per cent to 4.03 yuan; CITIC Securities , up 3.9 per cent to 29.41 yuan and Agricultural Bank Of China, up 0.3 per cent to 3.23 yuan.

In Shenzhen, BOE Technology, down 2.4 per cent to 2.80 yuan; Shenwan Hongyuan, up 3.8 per cent to 15.52 yuan and Changjiang Securities, up 7.6 per cent to 14.09 yuan were among the most actively traded.

Total volume of A shares traded in Shanghai was 20.5 billion shares, while Shenzhen volume was 12.0 billion shares.

REUTERS