Stock traders look at the stock quotation board at a securities house in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, April 23, 2007. Chinese shares soared to another new high on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index breaking the 3,700-point mark for the first trading day. The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,710.89 points, up 126.69 points or 3.53 percent from the previous close. The component index of the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange was up 426.42 points or 4.16 percent to 10,685.06 points. (Xinhua Photo/Chen Yehua) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares soared to another new high on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, led by steel and bank stocks, breaking the 3,700-point mark for the first time.

    The index, which covers both yuan-denominated A-shares and foreign currency-denominated B-shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, jumped 126.69 points or 3.53 percent to close at a record 3,710.89 points. Turnover reached 184.5 billion yuan (23.65 billion U.S. dollars).

    The component index of the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange was up 426.42 points or 4.16 percent to 10,685.06 points on turnover of 105.4 billion yuan.

    The vast majority of the shares moved up - including 828 on the Shanghai bourse and 578 on the Shenzhen bourse - with 110 of them going up by the maximum ten percent.

    Steel stocks recorded the highest rise, with Liaoning-based Fushun Special Steel Co. Ltd., Gansu-based Jiuquan Iron and Steel Group and Hebei-based Chengde Xinxin Vanadium and Titanium Co. Ltd. hitting their daily ten percent limits.

    The heavyweight Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained 2.07 percent to close at 5.43 yuan, while the Bank of China was up2.36 percent to 5.65 yuan.

    "Following last week's plunge, the stock market has recovered rapidly with shares rising on Friday and again today. This reflects continuing market expectations of higher share prices", said Qiu Yanying, an analyst at Shanghai TX Investment Consulting Co. Ltd.

    Chinese shares plummeted by more than four percent on April 19 ahead of the release of China's first quarter economic data and amid concerns that an overheated economy might prompt the central government to raise interest rates.

    But the next day, when official figures proved to be "better than expected", shares bounced back sharply with investors setting off on another buying spree, said an analyst with Guotai Junan Securities.