(Yicai Global) April 28 -- Shares of Chinese securities brokerages, including Huaxi Securities and China Galaxy Securities, surged after reporting improving earnings in the first quarter amid capital market recovery.

Huaxi's stock price [SHE: 002926] closed up 9.8 percent at CNY8.84 (USD1.28) today, after soaring 10 percent intraday.

Other leading gainers included China Galaxy [SHA: 601881], moving 9 percent up to CNY10.78 (USD1.56), and Shanxi Securities [SHE: 002500], rising 5.4 percent to CNY5.88.

Huaxi turned profitable over the quarter with a net profit of CNY402 million (USD58.2 million), according to the Chengdu-based firm's earnings report released yesterday. Revenue almost tripled to CNY1.1 billion (USD159 million) from a year ago.

China Galaxy recorded a 44 percent profit increase and Shanxi Securities boosted its gains nearly four times, per their respective reports revealed yesterday.

Among the 31 mainland-listed securities companies that have published their first-quarter earnings, 30 improved their performance. Only East Money Information, an online brokerage, logged narrowing profitability as its net profit fell by almost 7 percent to CNY2 billion.

More upside is expected. As China's economy rebounds, residents are expected to widen their stock investments, which should in turn continue to promote brokerages’ performance in the second quarter, Hua Chuang Securities pointed out in a research report released on April 23.

Three major mainland stock indexes have reversed last year's declines. The SSE Composite Index rose 5.9 percent in the first quarter, while the SZSE Component Index was 6.5 percent up and the ChiNext Index climbed 2.3 percent.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi