BEIJING, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The combined market value of China's two stock exchanges hit a new record of 15.06 trillion yuan (1.96 trillion U.S. dollars) on Monday, breaking the 15-trillion-yuan mark for the first time.

    The value (excluding that of hard-currency B-shares) was 510.3 billion yuan higher than the figure of 14.5 trillion yuan last Friday.

    Market sources said the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index concluded Monday's trading at a new high of 3,710.89 points, breaching the 3,700-point barrier for the first time.

    On Monday, the two bourses recorded 1,224 gainers out of a total of 1,322 negotiable yuan-denominated A-shares, including 111 shares which rose by their daily limit of 10 percent.

    The sources said the market value for both A and B-shares on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges amounted to 15.2 trillion yuan on Monday.

    It took only seven trading days for the combined market value of the two bourses to swell from 13 trillion yuan to 14 trillion yuan, and another eight trading days for it to soar from 14 trillion yuan to 15 trillion yuan.