Shanghai shares up for the 6th week

Shanghai stocks edged up today as market sentiment was lifted by data showing profits of major Chinese industrial firms grow steadily in 2017.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.28 percent to close at 3,558.13 points. For the week, the gauge jumped 2.01 percent. The index rose for the sixth week in a row.

Property developers, coal providers and telecommunication firms are among the biggest gainers today.

Market sentiment was lifted by data showing profits of major Chinese industrial firms continued to grow in 2017 due to supply-side structural reform.

Total profits of industrial companies with annual revenue over 20 million yuan (US$ 3 million) reached more than 7.5 trillion yuan in 2017, up 21 percent year-on-year. The growth pace was 12.5 percentage points faster than in 2016,  according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Cinda Real Estate Co Ltd jumped 5.91 percent to 6.63 yuan (US$1.05), Shanxi Coking Group Co Ltd added 5.75 percent to 11.95 yuan and Datang Telecom Technology Co Ltd rose 5.12 percent to 10.89 yuan.