1st LD-Writethru: Financial stocks lead rise in Chinese shares

Chinese shares were up on Friday as financial heavyweights lifted the indices, helping the market recoup some of the losses from earlier this week.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.72 percent to end the week at 3,083.51 points while the smaller Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.12 percent higher at 9,787.99 points.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, ended 0.12 percent higher to close at 1,774.63 points.

The banking sector led the gains, with China Merchants Bank rising 5.6 percent and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank increasing 3.1 percent.

The banking stocks as a whole are relatively undervalued and are safe assets to hedge risk, said Yang Delong, chief economist of First Seafront Fund.

Shares related to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area rose in afternoon trading, after remarks by vice head of China's economic planner of an economic integration plan.

Zhuhai Port, for example, saw its shares up by the daily limit of 10 percent after a slight loss in the morning session.

Before a mild recovery this week, Chinese shares had lost some 6 percent since April's peak as investors feared that tightened financial regulations would squeeze liquidity.

Regulatory measures may weigh on investor sentiment in the short-term, but since the policies are not targeted on the stock market, the A-share market will likely rebound in the long term, said Yang. Endi