Chinese shares soared on Wednesday afternoon following the announcement of a scheduled meeting between leaders across the Taiwan Strait and strong service sector data.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose more than 3.67 percent and the smaller Shenzhen index surged over 4.56 percent. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, jumped more than 5.44 percent.
Financial institutions led the rise with the whole securities sector rising more than 9.8 percent.
The market opened higher in the morning following news that Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou will meet on Saturday in Singapore to exchange views on promoting peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, and discuss major issues on deepening cross-Strait cooperation in various areas.
Companies that may benefit from the potential cooperation saw their prices up. Fujian Cement Inc. and Xiamen ITG Group rose by the daily limit of 10 percent.
The surge also came after the release of the Caixin China General Services PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index), which came in at 52 in October, up from 50.5 in September, indicating stronger demand in the country's service sector.
