The stock market rose 1.39 percent yesterday, led by the aviation sector.

The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 74.8 points to close at 5470.06. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.07 percent to 1505.77, and the foreign currency-denominated B-share index climbed 0.15 percent to close at 360.18.

Turnover on the Shanghai bourse dwindled to 143.18 billion yuan from 150.25 billion yuan the day before, partly because of the China Oilfield Service initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to divert capital from the stock market.

Analysts said more IPOs and three interest rate rises in the past two months are expected to slow down the stock market. "The stock market is expected to be volatile this month," said Wu Feng, an analyst at TX Investment Consulting Co Ltd.

China Eastern jumped to the daily limit to close at 21.77 yuan. Shanghai Airlines climbed 9.9 percent to close at 19.71 yuan.

Stocks in the financial sector also performed well. Bank of Beijing surged 8.33 percent after soaring 81.44 percent on its debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday. Ping An of China rose 4.66 percent to close at 118.24 yuan, after announcing insurance premiums of 67.67 billion yuan in the first eight months this year, up 16.7 percent from last year.

(China Daily September 21, 2007)