Stocks extend gains for fourth day in a row

China stocks further extended gains on Thursday, with turnover staying above 1 trillion yuan for the fourth day in a row.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.71 percent to 3,576.2 points, while the smaller Shenzhen Component Index jumped 1.11 percent to 15,356.4 points. 

The STAR 50 Index, however, continued to slide by 2.34 percent to 1,381.94 points, while the ChiNext Composite Index closed 1.52 percent higher at 3,162.4 points.

Trading volume on the two major bourses was around 1.22 trillion yuan (US$188.17 billion), expanding slightly by 3.1 billion yuan from the previous session. The Shanghai market posted a total turnover of 545.7 billion yuan, up 23.9 billion yuan.

Overseas capital, meanwhile, continued to flow into the Chinese mainland, with a net influx of 3.26 billion yuan via the Stock Connect schemes linking the mainland with Hong Kong. The Shanghai market saw a net inflow of 1.65 billion yuan.

Despite the overall gains in major indexes, over 3,200 A shares posted declines in the session, compared with around 800 shares closing higher. Among them, 51 stocks saw gains hitting the daily cap, while nearly 70 tumbled by the daily limit.

In terms of industries, the precious metal sector performed strongly, with Zijin Mining Group Company advancing over 6 percent and  Shengda Resources Co up nearly 3 percent.

Iron and steel firms were also among big gainers. CITIC Pacific Special Steel Group Co jumped over 8 percent, and Zhejiang Jiuli Hi-tech Metals Co increased 7.34 percent.

The catering and tourism industry, auto firms, and shares related to new energy also closed higher in general, while soft drink companies as well as shares related to online marketing and mobile payment posted losses.