(Yicai Global) Aug 5 -- Major indexes of China’s stock market closed high in a choppy, defensive market day, with merry-go-round sectors a salient feature of today’s trading, and gold rose above USD2,000 per ounce for the first time ever.

Refuge sectors such as agriculture and food were the belles of the ball, as were precious metals, while the financial sector proved the biggest wallflower of the day.

The Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.17 percent to 3,377.56 at market close. The Star 50 Index, which tracks technology growth stocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Nasdaq-style Star Market, rose 1.44 percent to 1,588.62.

The Shenzhen Component Index climbed 0.72 percent to 13,960.93. The ChiNext Price Index, which tracks growth enterprises listed in Shenzhen, notched up 7 percent at 2,860.24.

Editor: Ben Armour