Chinese shares rally Wednesday

Chinese shares rallied on Wednesday, led by financials, after two straight days of losses.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surged 1.55 percent, or 33.78 points, to end at 2,218.32 and the Shenzhen Component Index gained 1.35 percent, or 118.52 points, to finish at 8,911.65.

Combined turnover on the two bourses rose to 173.02 billion yuan (27.73 billion U.S. dollars) from 172.86 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

The financial sector climbed 3.19 percent. CITIC Securities Co., China's biggest listed brokerage, rose 3.70 percent to 12.61 yuan per share. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nation's biggest listed lender, expanded 0.74 percent to 4.10 yuan per share.

One reason for the rally was the strong performances of the U.S. stock market on Tuesday, said Liu Guanghuan with Newtimes Securities Co. Ltd..

Ping An, China's leading insurer, rose 1.15 percent to 40.38 yuan per share. Sinopec, the country's largest oil refiner, edged up 1.66 percent to 6.74 yuan per share.