Chinese shares close higher Tuesday

BEIJING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares closed higher on Tuesday, led by strong performances by cement manufacturers and real estate investors.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index increased 0.78 percent, or 17.42 points, to end at 2,257.43.

The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.39 percent, or 35.02 points, to 9,034.04.

Combined turnover shrank to 144 billion yuan (22.9 billion U.S. dollars) from 153.1 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Nearly 60 percent of shares on both bourses posted gains.

The cement industry surged the most on Tuesday as market confidence poured into sectors related to urbanization and infrastructure construction. Zhejiang Jianfeng Group Co., a cement manufacturer in east China's Zhejiang Province, rose by its daily limit to 11.40 yuan per share.

The property sector also fared well, with its sub-index up 2.53 percent and three stocks climbing by their 10-percent daily limit.

Bucking the trend, bio-pharmaceutical companies and liquor makers suffered losses, with sub-indices down 1.13 percent and 1.01 percent, respectively.

Anhui-based automaker JAC, which was reported by China Central Television on Friday to have used substandard steel plates in its cars, resumed trading on Tuesday and plunged 10 percent.

We recommend:
China's financial might takes shape	Top 10 Chinese cities with highest urbanization quality	Chinese investment in Africa: Digging deeper
Top 10 innovative cities in Asia-Pacific	Nation may limit gold to 2% of foreign reserves	Lu Zhaoxi named Alibaba's new CEO