China stocks end up 1 pct

The index still lost 4.2 percent for this week,having dropped nearly 20 percent from a recent high hit on April 15,mainly weighed down by concerns over an official campaign to clamp down on property speculation. It is one of the worst performers in the world this year.

But the bounce back from a fresh one-year low meant the index has temporarily found support at the 2,500-point mark,a level that some superstitious investors believe to be a lucky number.

Turnover rose a bit today,implying some fresh funds are coming into the market to chase bargains,said Chen Shaodan,senior stock analyst at Stockfly Securities in Beijing.

So the rally may have some room to run in the near term.

Turnover of the Shanghai A-share market was moderate at 87 billion yuan ($13 billion),but that was still up sharply from Thursday’s 72 billion yuan. Gaining Shanghai A shares outnumbered losers by 742 to 125 on Friday.

Shenzhen-based developer Gemdale,the most active stock of the day,gained 7.6 percent,while Xinjiang Urban Construction surged its 10 percent limit.

The latter also benefitted from the government’s announcement late on Thursday of a new set of policies to boost the economy of the far-west region of Xinjiang,an area that has been hit by ethnic unrest.

Xinjiang Tianye Co,a diverse manufacturer based in that region,was one of the day’s biggest gainers,rising to its 10 percent limit.

The Shanghai property sub-index ended up 3.3 percent,defying the flight from risky assets that has pounded U.S. and other Asian equity markets as concerns mount over the potential for the euro zone debt crisis to spread.

Property stocks have fallen too much already,so a technical rebound is expected,said Xu Yinhui,analyst at Guotai Junan Securities.

Developers are now starting to cut prices,prompting investors to expect that the government may hold off before taking any more draconian measures.

Hong Kong’s stock market was closed on Friday for a public holiday. The benchmark Hang Seng Index closed down 0.2 percent on Thursday at an eight-month low,on worries about an economic slowdown in the euro zone.

Despite Friday’s gains,the Shanghai Composite Index is still far away from some technically significant levels,indicating a reverse of the market’s recent downtrend is still distant.

Its nearest resistance,the 14-day moving average,is at 2,672 points,and the next important barrier,the 30-day moving average,is far away at 2,860 points.

On the index futures market,the most-active June contract rose 1.44 percent,partly buoyed by the spot market rebound. The spot May contract was delivered on Friday with little impact to the overall market,as the majority of contracts had already been settled. ($1 = 6.83 yuan)