China Shares Rebound, Led by ChinNext, Property Stocks

China stocks rebounded slightly on Tuesday, as real estate shares jumped on encouraging price reports, while small-caps bounced on signs of foreign interest.

But trading remained thin as investors are still concerned about the economy, and worry about market liquidity as regulators step up their crackdown on speculative trading while nine companies launch initial public offers this week.

The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen rose 0.4 percent, to 3,189.05, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.6 percent to 2,971.28 points.

Shenzhen's start-up board ChiNext rebounded 0.8 percent on Tuesday, snapping a four-day losing streak, on signs that some foreign investors are bargain hunting China's small-caps after the index's recent weakness.

CSOP SZSE ChiNext Index ETF, which allows direct foreign investment into China's ChiNext board, recorded HK$10 million ($1.29 million) in net inflows in recent days, and trades at a significant 2.44 percent premium over the ETF net asset value. A premium in ETF reflects hot investor demand.

Real estate stocks were also firm on Tuesday, rising 1.6 percent, amid reports that home prices in China's 100 major cities have posted month-on-month gains for 15 months in a row.

(Reporting by Samuel Shen and Pete Sweeney; Editing by Richard Borsuk)