China shares continue rally near 7-year high

Investors look through stock information at a trading hall of a securities firm in Shanghai, east China, March 18, 2015. (Photo: Xinhua/Pei Xin)

Chinese stocks rallied near a seven-year high for the ninth consecutive day on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surging by 1.95 percent to finish at 3687.73 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index gained 1.88 percent to close at nearly five-year new high of 12,780.32 points.

Total turnover on the two bourses once again passed 1 trillion yuan (163 billion U.S. dollars), with 161 shares soaring by the daily limit of 10 percent.

Railway and infrastructure construction shares were among the biggest winners, as a detailed plan for the "Belt and Road" Asian infrastructure initiatives is scheduled to be released during the 2015 Boao Forum for Asia, which will open on March 26.

China Railway Construction Corporation Limited and China Railway Group Limited both surged around the daily limit of 10 percent to reach 17.57 yuan and 11.35 yuan per share respectively.

Shares related to nonferrous metals, travel websites and online education also led the gains.

The ChiNext Index, China's Nasdaq-style board tracking growth enterprises, gained 3.61 percent to end at another historical high of 2293.65 points.