China's stocks end year with continued rebound

Chinese shares continued to rise on the last trading day of the year, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gaining 1.61 percent, or 35.88 points, to end at 2,269.13 points on Monday. The Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.99 percent, or 89.49 points, to 9,116.48 points. Combined turnover expanded to 196.7 billion yuan (31.2 billion U.S. dollars), up from 177.25 billion yuan on the previous trading day. Gainers outnumbered losers by 722 to 189 on the Shanghai bourse and by 968 to 475 in Shenzhen. Chinese equities gained just 3.17 percent for the year due to the country's slowing economic growth, which made its market one of the world's worst performers in 2012. However, Chinese shares have jumped more than 14 percent since the end of November, offering hope for the market's performance in 2013. Aviation manufacturers and shipbuilders led Monday's rise. Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry Co., Ltd. was up by the daily limit of 10 percent to 13.72 yuan per share, while Hafei Aviation Industry Co., Ltd. rose 6.81 percent to 18.82 yuan. China CSSC Holdings Limited climbed 7.89 percent to 23.24 yuan, while CSSC Jiangnan Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. surged 4.04 percent to 13.9 yuan. Property developers also posted strong gains on Monday. Metro Land Corporation Ltd. jumped 9.91 percent to 5.1 yuan, while AVIC Real Estate Holding Co., Ltd. rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 7.36 yuan. Data released by HSBC on Monday showed that the purchasing manager's index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector rose to a 19-month high of 51.5 in December, suggesting continued recovery in the sector. The PMI rebound is likely to continue, as infrastructure construction is running full-tilt and the property market is stabilizing, said Hongbin Qu, chief economist for HSBC China. China's GDP rose 7.4 percent in the third quarter from one year earlier, slowing for seven consecutive quarters and marking the lowest growth in more than three years.