Education, soft drinks boost share prices

China stocks extended their rises on Tuesday, led by gains in the education and soft drink sectors.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged up 0.37 percent to 3,345.34 points, while the smaller Shenzhen Component Index jumped 1.72 percent to 13,163.98 points.

The ChiNext Composite Index also soared 2.44 points to 2,591.26 points, and the blue chip CSI300 Index closed 0.6 percent higher at 4,698.13 points.

Turnover on the two major bourses continued to expand to total 1.74 trillion yuan (US$247.9 billion) compared with 1.57 trillion yuan in the previous session. Among them, the Shanghai Stock Exchange posted the total trade volume of 724.2 billion yuan, 69.3 billion yuan higher than on Monday.

Foreign capital continued to pour into Chinese mainland markets, with a net influx of 9.84 billion yuan via the Stock Connect schemes linking Shanghai and Shenzhen with Hong Kong.

As for individual shares, nearly 150 listed firms saw gains of over 9 percent, while two declined by more than 9 percent.

Among industry sectors, soft drink shares led the rises, with Hebei Yangyuan Zhihui Beverage Co surging by the daily limit of 10 percent.

The education sector was also among the biggest gainers. Offcn Education Technology Co soared to hit the 10 percent daily cap, while Bybon Group Company, Dalian My Gym Education Technology Co and Eastern Pioneer Driving School Co all advanced by over 3 percent.

Liquor shares, office supplies companies, the commercial service sector, and stocks related to power batteries and cellphone batteries all performed strongly.

On the STAR Market, 99 of the 119 listed firms rose, while the rest declined. TINAVI Medical Technologies Co spiked 614.29 percent to be the biggest gainer in the session, while China Resources Microelectronics dropped the most by 4 percent.