Chinese shares gain on better manufacturing data

Chinese shares saw a strong rebound on Tuesday, ending a losing streak from last week, as a result of recovered market sentiment on China's improved manufacturing data.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 0.7 percent to finish at 2,047.46, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose 1.27 percent to close at 7,281.11.

The rebound came after the country's statistics authorities unveiled on Tuesday the purchasing managers' index (PMI) for manufacturing sector in March, which edged up to 50.3 percent and indicated China's manufacturing expanded last month.

The brightening figure marked the first rise after declines for three consecutive months, adding hope of gradual recovery amid the increasing economic downward pressure on the world's second-largest economy.

Chen Hufei of Bank of Communication attributed the rising manufacturing PMI to warming foreign demand as new export orders increased after China's Spring Festival holiday, which prompted small enterprises to resume production. The depreciation of China's currency, the yuan, also helped to boost producers' vitality.

The stock market was also encouraged by new investment quotas of 29 billion yuan (4.7 billion U.S. dollars) granted by the central government for qualified foreign institutional investors in China's capital market.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained the most on Tuesday, up 2.05 percent to end at 1,355.05 points.

Sectors including liquor, furniture and manufacturing led the rise. Kweichow Moutai Co. jumped 5.04 percent to finish at 162.49 yuan per share, while China Shipbuilding Industry Company gained 0.21 percent to end at 4.69 yuan per share.

Chinese shares have suffered for the past four trading days, weighed down by pessimism over the economic outlook and rumors that the stock regulator would restart initial public offerings (IPOs).

Analysts believed it was not the right moment for the IPOs due to related policies not being in place. Even if IPOs were launched this month, the volume of new shares would not overflow the market capacity, however.

Despite the rebound, China's stock market was still far from entirely warming up. The most direct evidence was found in the shrinking turnover on Tuesday although the indices were up.