Mainland stock exchanges rise for third day after holiday

Stock markets on the Chinese mainland continued to rise for a third day on Tuesday after the weeklong Spring Festival holidays.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 17.60 points or 0.84 percent to 2,103.67 points on Tuesday. The Shenzhen Component Index inched up 25.96 points or 0.33 percent to 7,838.12 points.

Combined turnover on the two bourses on Tuesday was 309.31 billion yuan ($51.03 billion), up from Monday's 290.1 billion yuan.

Tuesday's gain was backed by strongly performing banks and coal companies and stocks linked to environmental protection.

The country's leading lender China CITIC Bank Corp jumped by the daily limit of 10 percent to 4.18 yuan on Tuesday while Ping An Bank rose 3.72 percent to 12 yuan.

Shares linked to environmental protection performed well on Tuesday. The Ministry of Environmental Protection is trying to strengthen monitoring and punish polluters, a ministry official said on Tuesday.

Tianjin Capital Environmental Protection Group jumped by the daily limit of 10 percent to 8.81 yuan and Zhongyuan Environmental-Protection rose 5.53 percent to 11.25 yuan.

On Tuesday, soy sauce maker Foshan Haitian Flavoring and Food debuted in Shanghai. The stock rose 29.58 percent to 66.41 yuan from its IPO price.

ChiNext, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups listed in Shenzhen, fell the most in a month, declining 26.26 points or 1.69 percent from Monday to 1,527.15 points, retreating from Monday's record high.