Mainland stocks enter bull market as transaction volumes skyrocket

Mainland stock markets extended gains on Thursday, entering a bull market as transaction volumes hit heights not seen since late July, Reuters reported. The Shanghai Composite and CSI300 indices were both up more than 20% from their respective nadirs during the summer equities rout, and futures markets have also surged, with every index future contract trading 2-3% higher. Chinese investors continue to increase their margin trading leverage, with outstanding margin loans on Wednesday hitting their highest since the end of August. “The surging brokerage shares yesterday attracted a lot of money into the market, supporting the further rise today,” said Liu Jingde, an analyst at Cinda Securities in Beijing.