Beijing  - China's main stock market index leapt by 2.42 per cent on Monday, following a regional surge spurred by higher oil prices.

The key Shanghai Composite Index, which tracks shares traded in local and foreign currencies, gained 77.18 points to close at 3,266.92, closing above 3,200 for the first time in 13 months.

The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index also jumped 1.9 per cent as shares in the financial, coal, oil and metals sectors rose strongly.

Sixteen stocks in companies producing metals hit their daily limit of a 10-percent rise in Shanghai on Monday, as the market was also fueled by expectations of an economic recovery in China, state media said.

China on Thursday reported 7.9-per-cent year-on-year growth in its estimated gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter, spurred by a government package to stimulate the economy.

Several leading international analysts raised their full-year growth forecasts for China's GDP to above 8 per cent following the announcement of the new statistics.(dpa)