Sep. 24, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Chinese stocks ended slightly higher on Thursday, with bank and property stocks leading the gains.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A shares and B shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, edged up 0.38% or 10.83 points and closed at 2,853.55 points after fluctuating between 2,886.26 and 2,783.11 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange increased 0.12% or 13.55 points to 11,475.88 points, after touching an intraday low of 11,109.08 points.

Decliners in the Shanghai market outnumbered gainers 520 to 279, while 57 were unchanged. Aggregated turnover on the two bourses was RMB 176.94 billion.

Bank stocks ended higher. Bank of Nanjing<601009>, a Shanghai-listed city-level commercial bank partly owned by BNP Paribas SA, jumped 7.03% to RMB 17.52. China Construction Bank Corp<601939><0939>, one of the country's Big Four state-owned commercial banks, grew 2.12% to RMB 5.78.

Property stocks also ended higher. China Vanke Co Ltd<000002><200002>, the country's largest publicly traded residential properties developer, gained 2.94% and closed at RMB 10.86. Poly Real Estate Group Co Ltd<600048>, China's second-largest developer by market value, increased 2.58% to RMB 23.05.

Cement firms were among the winners. Fujian Cement Inc<600802> jumped 9.72% to close at RMB 7. Hebei Taihang Cement Co Ltd<600553> grew 3.51% to RMB 9.74.

Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth<600111> surged by the daily limit of 10.01% to RMB 30.99. after reports that the firm is in talks with China Investment Corp to set up a joint venture for rare earth business.

Steel stocks ended mixed. Wuhan Iron and Steel Co<600005>, one of the leading iron and steel makers in China, shrank 1.05% to RMB 7.51. China's largest steel maker Baoshan Iron and Steel Co<600019> grew 1.53% to RMB 6.65.

Coal stocks were weak. Datong Coal Industry Co Ltd<601001>, the country's second-largest coal producer by capacity, decreased 0.8% to RMB 36.05. China Shenhua Energy Co Ltd<601088><1088>, the nation's biggest coal producer, edged up 0.62% and closed at RMB 30.89.