Chinese shares rose slightly on Thursday after the central bank pledged to maintain ample liquidity in the financial system on the previous night.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.19 percent, or 4.93 points, to close at 2,597.45 on Thursday. The Shenzhen ComponentIndex, however, fell 0.4 percent, or 40.13 points, to 10,108.94.

Losers outnumbered gainers by 583 to 336 in Shanghai, and 508 to 280 in Shenzhen.

Combined turnover surged to 269.3 billion yuan (US$40.13 billion) from 236.2 billion yuan on the previous trading day.

(Xinhua News Agency May 7, 2009)