China shares rise to almost 5-year high, key index jumps 53 pct in 2014

Chinese shares closed higher on the last trading day of 2014, with the key Shanghai Composite Index rising to a nearly 5-year high on Wednesday.

The Shanghai index soared 2.18 percent to close at 3,234.68 points, the highest level since Jan. 20 2010 when it ended at 3,151.85 points. For the entire 2014, the index jumped 52.87 percent, or 1,118.7 points, which was the biggest annual gain since 2010.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index closed at 11,014.62 points, up 2.73 percent. For 2014, the Shenzhen index advanced 2,892.83 points, or 35.6 percent.

On the last trading day, gainers outnumbered losers by 662 to 231 in Shanghai, and by 1,039 to 360 in Shenzhen. Total turnover on the two bourses shrank to 655.13 billion yuan (107.06 billion U.S. dollars), from Tuesday's 669.11 billion yuan.

Property developers, banks, securities firms and companies related to China's high-speed railway programs led the charge.

The property sub-index advanced 3.1 percent, with 10 firms rising by the daily limit of 10 percent, including China Vanke, Poly Real Estate Development, Gemdale Corporation and China Merchants Property Development.

Banks and securities firms, which were the main gainers behind the rise of Chinese shares in the past several months, continued to advance in the day.

Bank heavyweights including the country's big four lenders outperformed those smaller banks. Bank of China soared 5.3 percent to end at 4.15 yuan per share. ICBC, China's largest bank by market value, rose 3.4 percent to end at 4.87 yuan.

China Construction Bank gained 2.44 percent, and the Agricultural Bank of China rose 4.8 percent. China Merchants Bank was the best-performing among all banks, gaining 5.8 percent.

Shares of China's top two bullet train makers -- China CNR Corp. Ltd. and the CSR Corp. Ltd. -- both jumped by the daily limit of 10 percent on Wednesday, the first trading day after more than two months of trading suspension.

Late on Tuesday, a CSR Corp. announcement said the two bullet train makers will merge into a new company, to be named CRRC Corporation Ltd. The merger aims to build a new transnational and globally leading solution provider of high-end railway transport equipment, it said.

Nuclear firms were also strong, on news that China will soon restart construction of several nuclear power plants in coastal regions. Shanghai Electric surged by the daily limit of 10 percent, while Dongfang Electric Corp. jumped 7.33 percent.