Rally in tech stocks drives mainland markets higher

Stock markets in the Chinese mainland began the week in positive territory on Monday, with IT stocks gaining the most.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose by 15.54 points or 0.66 percent to 2,356.73 points on Monday. The Shenzhen Component Index climbed by 52.68 points or 0.65 percent to 8,204.20 points.

Combined turnover on the two bourses on Friday was 305.67 billion yuan ($49.91 billion), down from the previous trading day's 381.34 billion yuan.

Gains in IT, media, pharmaceutical, auto and property sectors supported the stock markets on Monday.

Domestic software companies rose on average 3 percent on hope that more domestic software will be used for public purposes. Youngyou Software Co advanced 7.21 percent to 18.00 yuan and Inspur Software Co added 3.66 percent to 25.52 yuan.

Pharmaceutical companies continued the recent upward momentum. Jiangsu Sihuan Bioengineering Co soared by 9.84 percent to 6.92 yuan.

ChiNext, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups listed in Shenzhen, jumped by 21.33 points or 1.41 percent to 1,532.38 points on Monday.