Stocks extend rally on Shanghai, Shenzhen bourses

BEIJING - Equities extended their rally on Monday, with the blue-chip Shanghai index scaling a 31-month high, helped by gains in defense, consumer and healthcare firms as well as a boost from technology shares. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 1.19 percent, while the financial sector sub-index was lower by 0.15 percent. The consumer staples sector rose 3.88 percent, the real estate index by 0.85 percent and healthcare sub-index by 1.77 percent.

The Shanghai Composite index was up 13.50 points or 0.39 percent at 3,501.36, with the largest percentage gainer Gome Telecom Equipment Co Ltd, reaching its highest since early 2016. The smaller Shenzhen index ended up 1.16 percent and the startup board ChiNext Composite index rose 2.32 percent.

Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index tacked on 0.1 percent while Japan's Nikkei index closed up 0.03 percent.