Stocks edge up on industrial profit data

Shanghai stocks edged up yesterday, bolstered by upbeat industrial profit data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.05 percent to 3,345.27 points.

Profits at China’s industrial firms jumped 24 percent in August from a year earlier, accelerating from July’s growth.

Anyang Iron & Steel Inc surged the daily limit of 10 percent after it forecast a sevenfold jump in net profit for the first nine months. Other steelmakers also rose, with Nanjing Iron & Steel Co up 4.14 percent.

Shanxi Securities said in a note that investment sentiment was still subdued ahead of the weeklong National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival break.