Chinese key stock index marches to 49-month high

Chinese shares were mixed on Friday's closing, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) ending at 3,108.6 points, up 1.67 percent.

Rises led by sectors including banks, coal, steel and electricity pushed the SCI to a 49-month high.

The stock market had a bullish run during the trading week, with the SCI gaining 5.2 percent since Monday.

In the smaller Shenzhen stock market, shares closed moderately lower with the Shenzhen Component Index ending at 10,627.11 points, down 0.36 percent on Friday.

Total turnover on the two bourses expanded to 801.23 billion yuan (131 billion U.S. dollars) from 739.49 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

Heavyweight shares gained with PetroChina rising 2.96 percent to close at 10.08 yuan per share; Sinopec surged more than 4 percent to 6.22 yuan per share.

Bank shares rose on concerns that blue-chip stocks remain undervalued. China Construction Bank surged 5.73 percent; Agricultural Bank of China rose 2.31 percent.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, fell 2.28 percent to end at 1,596.81 points.