HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Chinese stocks added to recent gains Monday morning, looking to extend a three-day winning streak after the Chinese government’s recent, drastic supportive measures. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4%, adding to a 2.1% advance the previous week. The rise came amid news that margin lending in mainland China increased slightly by 7.05 billion yuan ($1.13 billion) to 1.43 trillion yuan on Friday, according to the latest statistics released by the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2%, with the mainland-China-tracking Hang Seng China Enterprises Index nudging 0.1% higher. Index heavyweight Tencent Holdings Ltd. climbed 2.3%, after 10 central-government agencies, including the central bank, securities regulator and police department, jointly issued guidelines on Internet finance, specifying policies on how to further develop the emerging industry. Other Internet-related stocks rallied, with online-transaction-service provider China Binary Sale Technology Ltd. surging 6%, software developer Kingdee International Software Group up 5.9%, and larger rival Kingsoft Corp. ahead by 3.5%. However, mainland banks were mixed, as China Merchants Bank Co. dropped 0.5%, and Bank of Communications Co. fell 0.4%, while Bank of China Ltd. rose 0.7%, and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. traded flat. Meanwhile, gold stocks took heavy losses, as Lingbao Gold Co. and Zijin Mining Group Co. lost 4.4% and 3.8%, respectively, after intertional gold prices dropped to a more-than-five-year low at the end of last week.
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