Chinese share prices rose for the seventh straight trading day on Tuesday despite fluctuations in the morning session, with the major index edging towards 5,200 points.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed at 5,194.69 points on Tuesday, up 44.57 points, or 0.87 percent, from the previous close.

The Shenzhen Component Index on the smaller stock market, however, slipped by 0.37 percent or 66.91 points to close at 17,817.93 points.

The two bourses both opened lower in the morning session, and the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dipped below 5,100 points at one point.

Heavyweight insurance shares, such as China Life Insurance and Ping An, led the market advance in the afternoon, pushing the major index up to 5209.51 points at the highest.

China Life rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 56.09 yuan per share, and Ping An climbed 4.2 percent to 103.44 yuan.

Nonferrous metal producers also contributed to the rally in the afternoon. Aluminum Corporation of China Limited recorded another rise to the daily limit of 10 percent and closed at 55.68 yuan per share.

Other heavyweights also rose on Tuesday, with Sinopec up 3.36 percent to end the day at 16.31 yuan. Air China was up eight percent to 16.33 yuan.

Chinese share prices on Thursday breached the 5,000-point mark for the first time since the stock market was established 18 years ago, and have been hitting new highs since August 20.

Institutional investors have been confident of future gains as they continue to snap up blue chips, said dealers.

Institutional investors held 44 percent of the total capitalization of A-share markets by the end of July and had become a major force in China's securities markets.

The combined turnover of the two bourses remained high at about 263 billion yuan (US$34.6 billion).

(Xinhua News Agency August 29 2007)