Shanghai, Apr.13 - The stock index Thursday soared through the psychological barrier of 3500 points to close at a record 3531.03 after nine consecutive days of gains.

 

The Shanghai Composite Index, the most widely-watched indicator of the mainland stock market, rose 35.81 points, or about 1 percent. Turnover amounted to 148.37 billion yuan ($19.1 billion), down 5 percent from the day before.

 

The Component Index of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange also posted a record high - up 211.01 points, or 2.16 percent - to close at 9964.78 points on transaction volume at 85.96 billion yuan ($11.1 billion).

 

Small and medium caps showed the biggest gains, while the heavyweights stood firm.

 

The transportation and real estate sectors were in the spotlight yesterday. Guangzhou Shipyard International Co Ltd, which posted a 199 percent growth in net profit for 2006, jumped to the maximum trading range of 10 percent to close at 30.14 yuan ($3.88). Jiangxi Zhongjiang Real Estate Co Ltd, which posted a 1,242 percent jump in its net profit in 2006, also soared 10 percent to close at 13.86 yuan ($1.79).

 

Analysts said the increase, driven by the continuous flow of investment capital and underpinned by good corporate performance, is likely to continue in the next few weeks.

 

"The speed at which investment accounts are being opened will bring lots of funds into a market already flush with liquidity," said Zhang Yidong, an analyst at Industrial Securities.

 

The number of daily new accounts surged to a historic high of 195,000 on Tuesday, up 3.7 percent from the day before, according to statistics from China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited.

 

Deng Hongguang, an analyst at Orient Securities, said high company profits in recent years fueled the stock surge.