Chinese share prices rose sharply on Friday as investors shrugged off initial worries over further economic cooling measures after the release of strong economic data on Thursday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 3.73 percent, or 145.91 points, to 4,058.85 points, the highest closing after hitting 4,078.6 points on June 27.

The index traded between 3,918.41 points and 4,062.12 points. It dropped 0.44 percent to finish at 3912.94 points on Thursday in response to the strong economic data.

The Shenzhen Component Index on the country's smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange gained 4.9 percent, or 627.02 points, to 13,417.96 points.

The Hushen 300 Index of the performance China's two stock exchanges closed at 3,971.88 points, up 4.33 percent, or 164.89 points, from the previous close.

China's economy expanded 11.9 percent in the second quarter this year, lifting first-half growth to 11.5 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Thursday.

The consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 3.2 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period of last year. In June, CPI jumped by 4.4 percent compared with the same month last year, well above the government's target of three percent for 2007.

Wang Xiaoguang, an analyst at the Economic Research Institute with the National Development and Reform Commission, said the risein CPI would prompt the government to unveil macro-economic control measures sooner and interest rate hikes became more likely.

The combined turnover of the two bourses expanded to 161.1 billion yuan (21.3 billion U.S. dollars), compared with 96.9 billion yuan on Thursday.

The optimistic interim earnings prospect of listed firms against the backdrop of booming economy helped the recovery of investor confidence, said Qiu Yanying, an analyst with Shanghai Tianxiang Investment Consulting.

Qiu said the share price surge came as the inflation was in expectation and the market has earlier digested the impact of potential macro-economic control measures.

The market advance was led by the banks and property developers, said analysts.

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank rose 9.87 percent to 41.07 yuan after it projected its first-half net income to rise more than 50 percent from a year ago.

Heavyweights the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained3.13 percent to 5.60 yuan and the Bank of China added 2.92 percent to 5.29 yuan.

Fifteen property developers surged by the daily limit of ten percent. China Vanke, the country's largest listed, led the surge as its share prices soared to 25.64 yuan.

The A share index on the Shanghai Stock Exchange climbed 3.73 percent to 4,258.09 points and the B share index added 3.91 percent to 286.57 points.

The A share index on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange rose 4.9 percent to 14,139.44 points and the B share index jumped 3.86 percent to 5,949.62 points.