China stocks edge up after strong Sinopec earnings

SHANGHAI, Aug 24 - China's benchmark stock index opened up 0.72 percent on Monday with strong earnings by index heavyweight Sinopec Corp and a rise on Wall Street helping offset announcements of major new share offerings.

The Shanghai Composite Index opened at 2,982.192.

Sinopec, the world's second-largest refiner after Exxon Mobil, jumped 3.44 percent to open at 13.55 yuan after it posted record quarterly profits that widely exceeded expectations.

China's stock regulator announced late on Friday that it would review an application this week by Metallurgical Corp of China for a Shanghai IPO aiming to raise 16.85 billion yuan ($2.5 billion), while approving a Shanghai IPO by train maker China CNR Corp to raise nearly $1 billion.

The index had managed a rebound in the final two days of last week after falling 20 percent over a two-week period, as a 90 percent rally since the start of the year stalled amid concerns about stretched valuations, tightening market liquidity and fresh supplies of equity in the market.

The pull-back in large part also reflected Chinese corporations pulling money out of the market as they shifted bank borrowings from short-term investments into longer-term projects.