Chinese shares close higher Friday

Chinese shares rebounded on Friday, with shares related to farm herbicides particularly strong due to spring ploughing being on the horizon. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 0.74 percent, or 15.13 points, to finish at 2,058.83. The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.96 percent, or 69.80 points, to close at 7,367.80. Combined turnover on China's two bourses shrank to 146 billion yuan (23.72 billion U.S. dollars) on Friday from 149.42 billion yuan on the previous trading day. Twenty-four shares gained over 8 percent and 18 shares hit the daily increase limit of 10 percent, while only four shares dropped by more than 5 percent. Last year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued regulation to limit use of the herbicide glyphosate, dampening demand for it. But related shares surged 4 percent as spring ploughing is set to boost demand once more. Nonferrous metals sector performed strongly, with two shares up 10 percent. China Minmetals Rare Earth surged 9.99 percent to 19.59 yuan per share. High-tech shares also led the increase, as Guangdong Goworld rose 8.99 percent to 12 yuan per share and Chengdu B-ray Media gained 6.35 percent to 11.56 yuan per share. Bucking the trend, the oil and transportation equipment sectors declined. Sinopec Shanghai lost 1.67 percent and China CNR, one of the country's largest train makers, dipped 0.62 percent to 4.78 yuan per share. The ChiNext Index, a NASDAQ-style board tracking China's growth enterprises, gained 1.55 percent, or 20.56 points, to end at 1,346.74 points.