Chinese shares soar over reported stimulus plan

Chinese shares jumped to a three-week high Thursday following media reports stating that financing rules may be partially relaxed for real estate firms.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 3.23 percent, or 64.87points, to end at 2,072.99.

The Shenzhen Component Index soared 4.25 percent, or 333.52 points, to 8,184.77.

Combined turnover on the two bourses expanded to 255.12 billion yuan (41.28 billion U.S. dollars) from 158.73 billion yuan the previous trading day.

The China Securities Journal reported on Thursday that the central government may relax rules on financing for listed real estate developers, citing industry sources.

The possible loosening was seen by many investors as being part of an overall economic stimulus plan.

The financial and cement sectors were among the strongest on Thursday, with the sub-indices for the sectors surging 6.98 percent and 5.49 percent, respectively.

Hong Yuan Securities Co., Ltd. jumped 10.06 percent to close at 8.86 yuan per share, while Gansu Shangfeng Cement Co., Ltd. soared 10.08 percent to 5.68 yuan.

The property sector moved up 3.26 percent, with Poly Real Estate Group Co., Ltd. surging 6.09 percent to 11.32 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, which tracks China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.12 percent, or 11.92 points, to close at 1,080.78 points on Thursday.