China stocks ended higher on Friday, capping a strong year of gains as domestic and global investors increased their exposure to mainland markets despite worries about a slowing economy.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 11.59 points, or 0.35 per cent, at 3,307.97. The benchmark ended the year 6.6 per cent higher.
The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.31 per cent, with its financial sector sub-index higher by 0.35 per cent, the consumer staples sector down 1.5 per cent.
The real estate index rose 1.66 per cent and healthcare sub-index up 0.62 per cent, reports Reuters.
CSI300 was up 21.8 per cent in 2017. Blue chips have led gains in China’s stock markets this year, while many small caps have languished.
The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 0.64 per cent and the start-up board ChiNext Composite index was higher by 0.44 per cent.
At 0703 GMT, the yuan was quoted at 6.5075 per US dollar, 0.39 per cent firmer than the previous close of 6.5333.
This year, the Shanghai stock index is up 6.21 per cent, the CSI300 is up 21.8 per cent this year, while China’s H-share index listed in Hong Kong is up 24.4 per cent.