Shares close at over 3,400 points on rumors of backdoor listing

Shanghai shares closed at over 3,400 points today amid gains made by companies linked to rumors that Qihoo 360 may buy them to get itself listed.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.75 percent to end at 3,413.57 points.

Shandong Tyan Home Co Ltd and SJEC Corp, a manufacturer of escalators and elevators, both surged by the daily limit of 10 percent, buoyed by SJEC Corp resuming trading today.

Rumors have swirled that Qihoo 360, an online security company, was looking to buy Shandong Tyan and SJEC Corp so that it could get a backdoor listing on the A-share market.   

Petroleum and petrochemical firms also gained, as did iron and steel shares.

Bomesc Offshore Engineering Co Ltd hit the maximum daily cap of 10 percent, and Geo-Jade Petroleum Corp advanced 9.98 percent to 5.62 yuan. Xinjiang Ba Yi Iron & Steel Co Ltd rose 8.65 percent to 14.07 yuan and Xinyu Iron & Steel Co Ltd gained 7.27 percent to close at 5.90 yuan.

Non-bank financial companies also rose, with Huatai Securities Co Ltd, Xishui Strong Year Co Ltd Inner Mongolia and China Pacific Insurance Group Co Ltd all adding over 3 percent.