Stock exchanges continue to rise amid upbeat mood

Stock exchanges in the Chinese mainland maintained last week's upbeat sentiment on Monday, beginning the week in positive territory.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.52 percent or 15.25 points to 2,953.42 points on Monday. The Shenzhen Component Index nudged up by 0.40 percent or 41.92 points to 10,504.23 points.

The CSI 300 index of the 300 biggest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose by 0.75 percent to 3,217.23 points.

Total turnover on the two bourses was 711.76 billion yuan ($115.02 billion), slightly up from Friday's 703.19 billion yuan.

Stocks linked to infrastructure, transportation, brokerages and IT continued to rise on Monday. China State Construction Engineering Corp and China Electric Power Construction Co jumped by the daily limit of 10 percent.

Brokerage firms rose more than 3 percent on average. Northsouth Securities gained by 7.98 percent to 20.16 yuan and CITIC Securities Co climbed 6.24 percent to 27.06 yuan.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board for high-tech and fast-growing start-ups, rose to a record high level on Monday, closing up by 2.09 percent or 33.93 points at 1,657.50 points.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell by 0.95 percent or 221.35 points to 23,072.85 points on Monday, with total turnover of HK$68.62 billion ($8.85 billion).