Shares of Citic Securities, the mainland's largest listed brokerage, soared their 10 per cent daily limit yesterday, despite a weaker market, after the company said its board approved a plan to team up with United States investment bank Bear Stearns.
Citic's shares resumed trading yesterday after being suspended last month when a cross-ownership plan with Bear Stearns was first announced.
The shares rose 10.59 yuan to close at 116.52 yuan. The mainland's benchmark CSI 300 Index posted a loss of 132.3 points or 2.36 per cent to close at 5,472.93.
'The alliance between Citic Securities and Bear Stearns is only a small step in terms of equity investments but a big step for Citic Securities in terms of company development,' Guotai Junan Securities analyst Liang Jing said in a report yesterday.
The two parties agreed last month to buy US$1 billion worth of each other's shares and form a separate joint venture brokerage firm to tap the fast-growing mainland and Asian markets.
The transaction was still pending approval from mainland and US regulators, Shanghai-listed Citic Securities said in a statement to the exchange.
