Mainland exchanges buoyed by financial stocks' performance

Stock exchanges in the Chinese mainland continued to rise on Tuesday, backed by strong gains for brokerages, insurers and banks.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose for a third consecutive day, reaching the 3,000 level for the first time in five trading days. The index closed up by 2.31 percent or 68.10 points at 3,021.52 points on Tuesday.

The Shenzhen Component Index rose by 1.56 percent or 164.39 points to 10,668.62 points.

The CSI 300 index of the 300 biggest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose by 2.68 percent to 3,303.40 points.

Total turnover on the two bourses was 792.87 billion yuan ($127.97 billion), up from Monday's 711.76 billion yuan.

Brokerages saw strong increases, with 18 brokerage firms, including CITIC Securities and Changjiang Securities, jumping by the daily limit of 10 percent on Tuesday.

Coal shares also rose on expectations of a halt in price cuts, as seasonal factors may drive up coal demand.

Guizhou Panjiang Refined Coal Co rose 9.96 percent to 11.37 yuan per share.

The insurance sector also led the gains, with China Life surging 7.5 percent to 25.09 yuan per share.

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission announced on Monday a venture capital fund scheme that will facilitate insurance capital investment for small companies and start-ups. Up to 200 billion yuan of insurance capital is predicted to be unleashed through the initiative.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups, fell back from the record high level reached on Monday, closing down by 0.48 percent or 7.92 points at 1,649.58 points.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell by 1.55 percent or 357.35 points to 22,670.50 points on Tuesday, with total turnover of HK$91.24 billion ($11.76 billion).