BEIJING, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese shares ended higher Monday, lifted by strong gains of new energy vehicle (NEV) firms.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.28 percent to close at 3,362.86 points. The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.82 percent to 11,153.53 points.
Combined turnover on the two bourses shrank to 516.2 billion yuan (around 79.4 billion U.S. dollars) from 565.5 billion yuan the previous trading day.
NEV makers saw their shares surge, extending recent strong performance, after a government official said the country had started research on a timetable to phase out production and sales of fossil fuel cars.
Shares of Zhongtong Bus Holding Co., Ltd. and Yangzhou Yaxing Motor Coaches both rose by the daily limit of 10 percent to 13.84 yuan and 14.01 yuan, respectively. BYD Company surged 8.5 percent to 57.93 yuan.
Semiconductor firms also gained. Shares of Gigadevice Semiconductor (Beijing) Inc., Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics and Shanghai Fullhan Microelectronics all climbed by the 10-percent daily limit.
