Shanghai stocks close flat, with strong performance in property sector
Shanghai stocks closed generally flat on Friday with strong performance from real estate and agriculture shares, offsetting falls in coal and public utilities sectors.
The Shanghai Composite Index edged up slightly by 0.03 percent to end at 2,795.31 points.
"Despite the remaining uncertainties from domestic and foreign factors, the A-share market is worth investing in in the medium and long term," Cinda Securities said in a note.
Agriculture, forestry, fishery and stock-breeding stocks led the gains, with Shandong Homey Aquatic Development Co surging by the daily limit of 10 percent and Shanghai Kaichuang Marine International Co up 7.11 percent.
Real estate shares such as Nacity Property Service Co and Tibet Urban Development and Investment Co both jumped, hitting the 10 percent daily cap.
Coal stocks, however, dragged down the index, with Anhui Hengyuan Coal Industry and Electricity Power Co, Zhengzhou Coal Industry & Electric Power Co and Guizhou Panjiang Refined Coal Co all falling by over 2 percent.
The electricity and public utilities sector was also among the biggest decliners. Huaneng Power International and Huadian Power International Corporation dropped 6.59 percent and 6.44 percent respectively.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index posted a gain of 2 percent for the week, reversing the slump of 4.63 percent last week, which is its best performance for the past month. Turnover shrank slightly by 0.03 percent from the previous week to 694.4 billion yuan (US$101.3 billion).