Stock markets boosted by new policies

Stock markets in the Chinese mainland saw a strong weekly gain last week, backed by policy announcements.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 17.45 points or 0.83 percent to 2,115.85 points on Friday. The index ended the week 62.46 points or 3.04 percent higher than the previous week.

The Shenzhen Component Index rose Friday by 26.64 points or 0.34 percent to 7,883.75 points, rising by 218.89 points or 2.86 percent from February 7.

Combined turnover on the two bourses on Friday was 245.77 billion yuan ($40.51 billion), declining from Thursday's 302.13 billion yuan.

The gains came after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Friday that China's consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.5 percent in January from a year ago, the same as the previous month. Recently listed stocks, and those in the tourism and liquor sectors outperformed on Friday.

A series of recent government policy announcements boosted investors' confidence in various sectors last week.

The government will set up a 10 billion yuan fund to fight air pollution, a government statement late on Wednesday quoted Premier Li Keqiang as saying, boosting stocks in environmental protection sector.

Following the announcement by the Ministry of Finance on February 7 that a subsidy program for new-energy vehicles will be extended beyond 2015 when the existing policy expires, electric car makers also saw gains. Shares in BYD Co jumped by 21.81 percent during the week to 48.43 yuan.

US-based electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc began selling its high-end Model S on the Chinese market this month with a lower-than-expected price tag of 734,000 yuan.

Stocks linked to Tesla gained strongly during the week. Shares in Kingray New Materials Science and Technology Co soared by 57.12 percent during the week to 16.78 yuan.

Internet lottery companies also saw strong gains throughout the week, as investors expect the sector to expand rapidly. China's Internet lottery market has grown by an average of 51 percent each year in the last five years, according to Shenyin & Wanguo Securities.

ChiNext, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups listed in Shenzhen, rose on Friday by 30.65 points or 2.06 percent to 1,515.78 points, recovering from Thursday's fall of 3.56 percent. The index saw a weekly gain of 19.26 points or 1.29 percent from February 7.

Shares linked to medical informatization jumped on Friday. ChiNext-listed Shanghai Kingstar Winning Software Co gained by the daily limit of 10 percent, rising to 113.30 yuan.