SHANGHAI (March 6): China stocks started the week on an upbeat tone as tech shares jumped after Premier Li Keqiang identified innovation as a key part of the economy's restructuring at the opening of the annual meeting of the country's parliament. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.6%, to 3,446.48, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.5% to 3,233.87 points. Outperforming the broader market, China's tech-heavy ChiNext board jumped 1.8%, while an index tracking technology related sectors gained 1.5%. In particular, stocks related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) soared after the sector was identified by Li as key to upgrading the economy. Coal stocks also posted robust gains, as China vowed new cuts in steel and coal capacity.

Source: The Edge Markets March 06, 2017 07:41 UTC