Mainland exchanges rebound as financial stocks lead recovery

Major mainland stock exchanges bounced back Thursday, with financial stocks also recovering.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended a two-day losing streak and moved back above the 3,000 level. The benchmark index rose by 3.36 percent or 100.00 points to 3,072.54 points on Thursday.

Following a five-day downward trend, the Shenzhen Component Index gained by 1.96 percent or 201.26 points to 10,493.78 points on Thursday.

The CSI 300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen jumped by 3.25 percent to 3,335.42 points.

Total turnover on the two bourses was 579.88 billion yuan ($93.09 billion), slightly down from the previous trading day's level of 583.97 billion yuan.

On Thursday, almost all sectors saw a rise, with shares linked to financial, infrastructure, energy and transportation firms leading the gains.

Financial stocks suffered from a heavy selloff during the first three days of the week but recovered on Thursday.

All four listed insurers jumped more than 8.5 percent on average, with China Life Insurance Co soaring by the daily limit of 10 percent to 27.87 yuan.

The banking sector saw an average gain of 3.93 percent on Thursday, with Hua Xia Bank jumping by 9.98 percent to 12.34 yuan and China Construction Bank increasing by 6.76 percent to 6.32 yuan.

Brokerages surged nearly 4 percent on average. Western Securities rose by 10 percent to 29.93 yuan and The Pacific Securities Co gained by 8.69 percent to 13.38 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups, rose by 0.64 percent or 9.67 points to 1,529.47 points.

In Hong Kong, stock exchanges were closed for the Christmas holiday.