BEIJING, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares surged to a new high on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rising 39.1 points or 1.04 percent, to close at 3,783.06 points.

    It was the fourth time this week that the index, which covers both yuan-denominated A-shares and foreign currency-denominated B-shares listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, closed at an all-time high.

    The component index of the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange rose 180.5 points or 1.69 percent to 10,848.78 points.

    The combined turnover of the two bourses shrank to 223.78 billion yuan (28.69 billion U.S. dollars), from 263 billion yuan on Wednesday and a record high of 317.6 billion yuan on Tuesday.

    Most stocks moved up in value, including 589 stocks in Shanghai and 386 in Shenzhen.

    Securities companies led the way, with Hongyuan Securities reaching its daily ten percent limit and CITIC Securities surging 6.08 percent.

    Heavyweights China Life and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. surged more than 2 percent and Ping An of China gained 3.17 percent. But Bank of China dipped 0.35 percent.

    The newly listed Lianyungang Port soared 187.35 percent.

    "The Bank of Communications attracted a record 1.455 trillion yuan in subscriptions for its initial public offering (IPO) and the number of new trading accounts hit a record 300,000 on Thursday, which shows the stock market is abundant in capital," said Qiu Yanying, an analyst at Shanghai TX Investment Consulting Co. Ltd.