China stocks rise, led by financials and property firms

China stocks ended firmer on Tuesday, led by financial and real estate firms, though trading was thin as year-end nears. At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 25.43 points or 0.78 percent at 3,305.89. The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.31 percent, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 0.8 percent, the consumer staples sector down 1.46 percent, the real estate index up 0.77 percent and healthcare sub-index down 0.61 percent.
The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 0.43 percent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.17 percent. Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.19 percent while Japan's Nikkei index closed down 0.20 percent. At 07:11 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.5491 per US dollar, 0.13 percent weaker than the previous close of 6.5408.
The largest percentage gainers in the main Shanghai Composite index were Changchun Gas Co Ltd up 10.06 percent, followed by Jiangsu Wuzhong Industrial Co Ltd and Yabao Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd, both up by 10.04 percent. The largest percentage losses in the Shanghai index were Tongwei Co Ltd down 4.56 percent, followed by Yangmei Chemical Co Ltd losing 4.5 percent and Jiangsu Lugang Culture Co Ltd down 4.21 percent.
About 14.24 billion shares were traded on the Shanghai exchange, roughly 91.0 percent of the market's 30-day moving average of 15.66 billion shares a day. The volume in the previous trading session was 14.69 billion. The Shanghai stock index is below its 50-day moving average and above its 200-day moving average. The price-to-earnings ratio of the Shanghai index was 14.77 as of the last full trading day while the dividend yield was 2 percent. So far this week, the market capitalisation of the Shanghai stock index has fallen by 0.42 percent to 28.67 trillion yuan.