A-shares soar following US rally

Stock markets on the Chinese mainland surged Monday as improvements at US exchanges lent credence to opinions that conditions in the global economy were on the mend.

The Shanghai Composite Index closed at an eight-month high of 2,346.51 after surging 55.21 points, or 2.41 percent; while the Shenzhen Component Index rose 261.79 points, or 2.80 percent to finish at a six-month high of 9,618.92.

The US S&P 500 cracked the 1,500-level Friday, the highest level in eight years.

Indices in Shanghai and Shenzhen opened high Monday and quickly gained on strong showings from aviation and construction sectors. Solid advances from several of the markets' most heavily weighted sectors - including securities, banking, automobile and coal - pushed the Shanghai Composite above 2,300 points by the end of morning trading. Markets continued to climb in the afternoon, with most sectors notching gains on the day.

Financial service shares were buoyed by announcements from the two stock exchanges Friday that the number of stocks allowed to be included in margin trading will increase from 280 to 500 starting this Thursday. Brokerages jumped almost 6 percent on this news. Haitong Securities Co surged 8.15 percent to 11.01 yuan.

Property shares climbed higher in afternoon trading amid growing skepticism about whether the property tax program which has been in place in Shanghai and Chongqing over the past two years will be enlarged to cover more cities. Guangzhou-based Poly Real Estate Group Co increased 4.23 percent to 13.55 yuan.