Chinese shares opened higher on Monday, February 2, the first trading day after the Chinese traditional Lunar New Year holiday, which met investors' expectations.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, gained 0.88 percent, or 17.47 points, to 2,008.13 points at the opening.

The smaller Shenzhen index was up 0.84 percent, or 58.63 points, to open at 7,073.87 points.

Overnight Wall losses sent Chinese share prices down 0.71 percent on Jan. 23, the last trading day before the holiday.

The holiday period didn't see big drops in the outside markets. Dow Jones edged down 0.95 percent and Hang Seng Index rose more than 5 percent. This helped ease worries of investors over the outside markets during the holiday.

Over the 18 years from 1991 to 2008, 13 first trading days after the Lunar New Year holiday posted gains.

An online survey conducted by Sina showed 78.5 percent of investors believed A-share market would post a rising opening on the first trading day.

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2009)