China's main stock index hit a fresh all-time high after breaking a key barrier of 4,000 points as new investor cash flooded in after the one-week-long May Day market recess, and China's yuan broke the barrier of 7.70 against the US dollar.

After another day of hectic activity, the Shanghai Composite Index broke through the psychological barrier of 4,000 points to close at another record high of 4013.09 on May 9th.

On the same day, the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index also surged in its wake, closing 0.3 percent higher at 1111.29, also a record.

Share prices have already risen 50 percent in Shanghai this year, following a 130 percent gain last year. And the Shenzhen Composite Index is up 100 percent this year.

The buying momentum picked up in the afternoon after a volatile morning session. A heavy selling was witnessed when the index crept past 4,000 at around 11 am. Before the noon break, the index was down 0.9 percent at 3926.45.

The bulls returned in force after the lunch break and pushed the index up a whopping 63 points, or 1.6 percent, with 369 out of 907 stocks closing higher.

Turnover on the Shanghai bourse ballooned to 255.3 billion yuan (US$33.2 billion), breaking the record of 205.2 billion yuan (US$26.6 billion), set the day before.

The foreign-currency denominated B-share index rose 17.39 points, or 6.88 percent, to close at 270, after it soared 9.3 percent the day before.

Stocks in the financial sector led that day's trading. Citic Bank, which made its debut on April 27, soared to its daily allowable limit to close at 11.46 yuan, while Bank of China rose 7.77 percent to 6.10 yuan, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was up 5.47 percent to 5.78 yuan.

China Unicom, the nation's second largest wireless operator, jumped its daily limit of 10 percent to close at 6.35 yuan per share.

Real estate companies continued their strong performance. For example, the Chinese real-estate giant, Vanke A soared 10 percent to close at 21.88 yuan, while Shenzhen Zhenye Group jumped 9.99 percent to close at 22.25 yuan. Companies in the pharmaceutical sector also did well.

Meanwhile, Statistics from China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation show that some 4.787 million new A-share trading accounts were opened in April, more than the combined number of the previous two years.

The figures for the new accounts are considered a rough indicator for the number of new individual investors entering the market. (Source: ChinaDaily)

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