Shanghai's B share index closed up 2.40 percent at 135.043 points, while Shenzhen's rose 2.43 percent to 208.76 on buying by brokerages and mutual funds, they said.

Turnover in B shares, available to foreign investors, surged to a still-moderate US$26.7 million in Shanghai from US$10.5 million on Monday and leapt to HK$184.9 million (US$23.7 million) in Shenzhen, up from HK$82.2 million (US$10.6 million).

"Supportive buying by institutional investors ahead of the Party Congress led to a technical rebound after the downtrend over the past few weeks," said analyst Jin Guanfeng of Haitong Securities.

"We expect some more gains in the near term, but a rise in the medium term depends on heavier volumes," he said.

Top Party leaders are expected to start handing over power to a new generation at the congress, scheduled to start on Friday.

Before the technical rebound, China's shares had fallen nearly 10 percent since early September, hit by a raft of worries ranging from low volumes and an official crackdown on corruption to a long list of companies waiting to go public.

Yesterday, buying focused on shares in companies which might be a target of foreign investment, after the government lifted a seven-year ban on foreign purchases of State-held stakes in domestic listed firms, brokers said.

Shenzhen-listed Shandong Airlines was the biggest B share gainer, closing up 5.81 percent at HK$4.37.

"The lifting of the ban continued to be a major factor today, pushing up stocks in companies likely to see foreign investment," said Zheng Weigang, a senior analyst at Shanghai Securities.

SVA Electron Co, which makes electrical devices such as vacuum tubes for television sets, was Shanghai's star performer and closed up 4.23 percent at US$0.640.

SVA's parent company, Shanghai General Electronics (Group) Co Ltd, is in talks with Telstra Corp Ltd - Australia's biggest telecommunications firm - on setting up a domestic joint venture, company officials said in June.

Minor electricity generator Shenzhen Nanshan Power Co was yesterday's only B share decliner after it said investigators were investigating suspected corruption amongst senior officials. Its B shares dropped 6.23 percent to HK$5.12.

Shanghai's A share index ended up 1.71 percent at 1,627.725 points and its Shenzhen counterpart rose 1.60 percent to 479.69. Yuan-denominated A shares are reserved for Chinese investors.

(China Daily November 6, 2002)