Shanghai's key stock index rose in the morning session today, led by consumer-related shares, after Kweichow Moutai Co and Guangdong Midea Electric Appliances Co posted higher first-half profits.
The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.51 percent, or 11.92 points, to 2,354.07 at 11:30am.
Gainers in the Shanghai market outnumbered losers 387 to 371 while 71 did not change.
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks the smaller domestic stock exchange, was up 0.08 percent, or 0.51 points, to 643.32.
Midea Electric, China's second-biggest publicly traded appliance maker, jumped by the 10 percent daily limit to finish the session at 9.03 yuan (US$1.32) and Moutai rose 2.12 percent to 138.01 yuan.
Midea Electric said first-half profit rose 39 percent from a year earlier to 990.6 million yuan on sales that increased 44 percent.
Moutai, the maker of a fiery spirit used at Chinese government banquets to toast visiting dignitaries, said first-half profit jumped 164 percent to 2.2 billion yuan after the company raised prices.
Some power producers were also among the gainers this morning despite discouraging profit reports.
GD Power Development Co, the biggest electricity producer in northeastern China, added 0.64 percent to 11.08 yuan. The company said first-half profit fell 44 percent to 329 million yuan after fuel prices rose to a record.
Huaneng Power International Inc, China's biggest power producer by capacity, edged up 1.52 percent to 6 yuan. It posted a first-half loss of 543.8 million yuan, compared with a year-earlier profit of 2.88 billion yuan, on higher coal costs and state tariff caps.
On the losing side, oil-related shares fell over shrinking profits.
PetroChina Co, the country's largest oil company, shed 0.46 percent to 13 yuan. Sinopec, the largest oil refiner, lost 1.08 percent to 10.08 yuan.
PetroChina, the biggest market heavyweight, posted its steepest semi-annual profit decline in more than six years as refining losses eroded gains from record crude oil prices. Net income fell 35 percent to 53.6 billion yuan in the first half.
But Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co, the nation's largest oil refiner, inched up 0.20 percent to 5.08 yuan. The company posted a net loss of 372.8 million yuan in the six months to June 30, compared with a profit of 1.76 billion yuan, on higher crude oil costs.
