Markets surge on upbeat industry reports

Stock markets on the Chinese mainland climbed to multi-week highs Monday as a raft of positive news bolstered several heavily weighted sectors.

The Shanghai Composite Index rose 49.05 points, or 2.39 percent, to close 2,101.28; while the Shenzhen Component Index advanced 210.77 points, or 2.59 percent, to 8,356.73. The small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) index also added 1.19 percent on the day. The ChiNext index, a benchmark measuring companies on China's NASDAQ-style growth enterprise board, dropped 0.91 percent after missing out on ebullience which hoisted most shares elsewhere.

Combined turnover of the two exchanges accelerated to 238.86 billion yuan ($39.01 billion). up from Friday's 228 billion yuan.

Confidence got a major shot in the arm from data released late Friday which showed that new bank loans for July totaled 699.9 billion yuan, beating market expectations.

Coal mining shares added an average of 7.86 percent Monday as 15 stocks cleared the 10 percent daily limit. Analysts pinned the rally on the recent approval of a major coal-to-gas project which is expected to boost demand for the resource.

Listed brokerages also soared after the China Securities Regulatory Commission announced Friday at a press conference that it would support innovation at securities firms. Southwest Securities Co Ltd led the sector after adding 7.56 percent to 9.53 yuan.

Banking equities were also pulled higher Monday. Shares for Industrial Bank Co Ltd jumped 6.13 percent to 9.87 yuan; while China Minsheng Banking Corp Ltd gained 5.58 percent, to 8.89 yuan.

Other notable winning sectors included nonferrous metals, insurance, and electrical power production and supply, gaining 4.34 percent, 4.24 percent and 4.08 percent respectively.

Yang Xiong, mayor of Shanghai, confirmed that Premier Li Keqiang expressed support for the Shanghai Free Trade Zone when he toured the city earlier this year. Analysts said this shows the central government's commitment to reform. Logistics stocks got a nudge on this news.