Shanghai stocks edged up yesterday, sending the key index to its first monthly gain this year, after media reported that China's foreign exchange regulator has bought shares.
The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.11 percent to 3,003.93 points. The index gained 11.8 percent last month, paring its loss to 15 percent this year.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has purchased A shares worth more than 27 billion yuan ($4.2 billion) since the fourth quarter of last year, the Shanghai Securities News reported yesterday.
SAFE bought the shares via its wholly controlled subsidiary Buttonwood Investment Platform Ltd and Buttonwood's two fully owned subsidiaries, the newspaper said.
Buttonwood is now a major shareholder of a number of banks including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and Bank of Communications, according to latest earning reports.
The index's rise was also buoyed by a 17th straight day of net inflows when overseas investors bought a net 2.5 billion mainland shares via the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, according to Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd.
Both Dalian Port Co and Ningbo Port Co surged by the daily limit of 10 percent.
