China stocks edge up, Merchants Sec in dull debut
SHANGHAI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - China's key stock index edged up 0.24 percent on Tuesday to its highest close in three months, supported by the banking sector after Taiwan and China inked a financial pact, while China Merchants Securities Co (600999.SS) staged a soft debut as investor fervour waned toward IPOs.
The Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC ended at 3,282.889 points after touching a fresh three-month intraday high of 3,298.379.
Gaining Shanghai A shares outnumbered losers by 498 to 374 while turnover eased to 193 billion yuan ($28.28 billion) from Monday's three-month high of 226 billion yuan.
China Merchants Securities, which raised 11.1 billion yuan in an initial public offering, ended its first day of trade at 33.61 yuan, up a weaker than expected 8.42 percent from its IPO price in the worst first-day performance by a newly listed stock in Shanghai since a 10-month ban on IPOs was lifted in June. [ID:nSHA199651]
U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday nudged Chinese President Hu Jintao to allow the yuan currency to appreciate at a summit where they agreed to work to ease trade and economic frictions. [ID:nPEK156380]
Shanghai's index of U.S. dollar-denominated B shares ended up 2.69 percent at 256.976 points, continuing the volatile trade of recent sessions amid speculation about yuan appreciation and due to low valuations compared with A shares. ($1=6.826 Yuan) (Reporting by Claire Zhang and Edmund Klamann)
