Bumper year for Shanghai stocks

Shanghai stocks extended their rally on the last trading day of 2019 to close the year with a 22.31 percent yearly gain, the biggest jump since 2014.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.33 percent to 3,050.12 points. The smaller Shenzhen Component Index advanced 0.63 percent to 10,430.77 points, while the blue chip CSI300 index ended 0.37 percent higher at 4,096.58 points.

For the whole year, the Shanghai index jumped 22.31 percent, the best performance since the index recorded a 53-percent gain five years ago. The Shenzhen index, meanwhile, posted a yearly surge of 44.08 percent, the biggest rise since 2010, and the blue chip index jumped 36.1 percent from the start of the year.

Everbright Securities expected China's stock market to perform well over the next six months. Song Yiwei, an analyst at Bohai Securities, noted that the continued inflow of foreign capital was conducive to further development of the market.

Pharmaceutical shares and biotechnology companies led the rise on Tuesday, as 27 viral pneumonia cases were identified in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. The Wuhan health commission said that all cases were found to be related to a seafood market, and there were no clear signs of human-to-human transmission, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Ten listed companies in the two sectors skyrocketed by the daily maximum of 10 percent, including Shanghai Lukang Pharmaceutical Co, Guilin Layn Natural Ingredients Corp and Shandong Sinobioway Biomedicine Co.

The agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery sector was also among the biggest gainers, with Yuan Longping High-Tech Agriculture Co, Beijing Dabeinong Technology Group Co and Shandong Denghai Seeds Co all hitting the 10-percent daily cap.

Building material firms, precious metal shares, and stocks related to venture capital all performed strongly.

On the STAR Market, 54 of the total 66 listed firms advanced, one remained flat, while 15 posted declines.