Chinese shares rose Thursday on optimism about a possible economic rebound, led by resource shares following a hike in state-set fuel prices, AP reported. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 52.1 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 3060.25. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second exchange edged up 1 percent to 987.02. Prices rose after news reports cited officials who said June power output was expected to have risen, a sign of expanding economic activity following an eight-month decline in power demand. That added to recent data showing stronger manufacturing, investment and consumer spending. «Investors are just heartened about the economic recovery and looking for any possible reasons to buy,» said Wen Lijun, an analyst for Nanjing Securities. Resources extended gains after the government raised state-set retail prices for gasoline and diesel this week, which will expand profit margins for suppliers. PetroChina Ltd., Asia's biggest oil and gas producer, jumped 3.4 percent to 15.07 yuan, while China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, increased 3.8 percent to 11.19 yuan. China Shenhua Energy Co., the country's biggest coal producer, surged 4.4 percent to 31.81 yuan, and Kailuan Clean Coal Ltd. advanced by daily limit of 10 percent to 21.67 yuan. Non-ferrous metals, a sector expected to benefit from economic growth, rose, with Aluminum Corp. of China up 4.5 percent to 12.68 yuan and Yunnan Copper Co. gaining 2.3 percent to 21.88 yuan. In currency markets, the yuan weakened to 6.8324 to the U.S. dollar, down from Wednesday's close of 6.8323.
