Led by coal companies, Shanghai stocks edged up yesterday.
At close, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.36 percent to 2,998.48 points.
Kailuan Energy Chemical Co, a coal wholesaler, rose 5.42 percent to close at 7.39 yuan ($1.11), while Yanzhou Coal Mining Co grew 4.43 percent to 12.25 yuan.
Mainland investors were optimistic on coal companies as coal prices surged this year, boosting the profitability of these companies.
Steam coal prices across China was 561 yuan per ton yesterday, rising from 360 yuan per ton at the beginning of this year, according to the Bohai-Rim Steam-Coal Price Index, the benchmark of Chinese coal price.
Coal producers and traders in Shanxi, Shaanxi and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region had reaped in profits, the National Business Daily reported earlier this month.
Shaanxi Coal Industry Co made a profit of 251 million yuan in the first half, rebounding from over 2 billion yuan in losses last year.
The surge in coal prices was partly led by a cut in overcapacity in China, which had trimmed coal output by 72.3 million tons over the first half of this year.
