Chinese shares extend gains on Friday

BEIJING -- Chinese stocks performed well this week, after market sentiment was bolstered by the recent announcement of proposals for China's development blueprint for the next five years.

On Friday, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 1.91 percent to hit 3,590.03, the highest since August 21. The smaller Shenzhen index gained 2.79 percent to close at 12,273.35 points.

Total turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses stood at 1.17 trillion yuan ($185 billion), slightly down from 1.37 trillion yuan the previous trading day.

This week, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 6.1 percent thanks to sharp gains from the last three days. The index rebounded more than 20 percent from its August 26 low, bringing the market back into a technical bull territory.

Security firms were among the biggest winners. Industrial Securities and Everbright Securities, for example, rose by the daily limit of 10 percent for the third consecutive day.

The market has basically bottomed out and another bull-market propped up by reforms will come soon, said Ren Zeping, an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) on Tuesday issued the full text of proposals for China's development from 2016 to 2020, setting a target of "maintaining medium-high growth."

The five-year development plan has strategic importance for China's growth and will also have a big impact on the stock market, Ren said.

According to Tuesday's proposals, China will accelerate opening up of capital market by gradually making the Chinese yuan convertible on the capital account and further expanding the investment quota for qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs).

The proposals also stressed the importance of innovation in fulfilling China's economic goals for the coming years.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, rose 3.77 percent to close at 2,661.41 points.