After yesterday's intense combat around the critical frontier, the benchmark Shanghai index climbed up to the 5,000-point mark and managed to consolidate the position today. At the same time, both the major indices finished at record highs.

Total turnover of stocks in the major indices was 244.8 billion yuan, lower than yesterday.

Shanghai Composite Index
Source: www.sina.com.cn

The Shanghai Composite Index opened higher at 5,002.84 but soon lost momentum and slid down to a low of 4,968.33. There, it turned up again and regained the battle ground. It held on over the line till the end and touched 5,050.38, the day's highest point. Finally the index stopped at 5,032.49, 52.42 points or 1.05 percent higher than yesterday's closing level.

Shenzhen Component Index
Source: www.sina.com.cn

The Shenzhen Component Index, tracking the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange, opened higher at 17,441.64 and stayed within a range of between 17,272.29 and 17,731.62. The index closed at 17,639.23, up 307.24 points or 1.77 percent.

Of the A shares listed in Shanghai, 486 went up, 276 closed down and 80 finished unchanged. Of the gainers, 19 were sealed at the maximum growth cap of 10 percent.

In Shenzhen, 338 A shares closed higher, including the 12 best performing stocks with a 10 percent growth, while 219 slipped down and 82 ended flat.

The largest traders, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Chalco and TCL, went up less than 1 percent. China Vanke, with the largest transaction value in Shenzhen, climbed 2.3 percent to 34.79 yuan.

New shares Ningbo Dongli Transmission Equipment, Shanghai Cimic Tile and Shenzhen Sanxin Glass Technology rose 288 percent, 216 percent and 194 percent respectively. The less "drastic" price changes than their predecessors' represented the effectiveness of the bourse's latest measures against malicious bidding, said analysts.

A shares in the media, paper and real estate industries led the surge. Listed closed-end mutual funds were up, with both the indices rising over 1 percent.