Equities advance on metal rally

SHANGHAI - China's stocks rose for a third day, sending the benchmark index to the highest in two months, as metal producers rallied on the prospect for faster global economic growth and coal producers gained on surging demand.

Jiangxi Copper Co, China's biggest producer of the metal, gained 1.4 percent on higher US consumer spending. China Shenhua Energy Co and China Coal Energy Co, the nation's top two coal producers, gained at least 0.7 percent as a drought in the south spurred coal demand for electricity generation. China Cosco Holdings Co, the world's largest operator of dry-bulk ships, led shipping lines lower after freight rates dropped.

"The broader market is still in a fluctuating pattern," said Zhang Kun, a strategist at Guotai Junan Securities Co in Shanghai. "There's no big catalyst for it to break out of the current level as the tightening concern is still lingering."