(Yicai Global) Feb. 22 -- China's mainland stock markets advanced in big leaps this afternoon to end the day with gains. Financial firms performed particularly well and the two bourses' trading volume reached a peak since last March. 

The Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.91 percent to 2,804.23 points, with a market volume of CNY264.5 billion (USD39.4 billion). The increase was 4.5 percent during the past five trading days, the largest weekly gain since March 2016.

The Shenzhen Component Index rose 2.36 percent to 8,651.20, with CNY357.7 billion worth of equities changing hands. The two bourses' trading volume was CNY622.2 billion.

The field of securities companies rallied to close a tad below the upper limit of 10 percent gains. Some three out of four firms reached the limit while the rest moved in the range of 8.8 percent to 9.5 percent up.

The ChiNext Price Index, which tracks growth enterprises in Shenzhen, advanced 3.1 percent to end at 1,456.30, with a CNY103.4 billion stock turnover. 

Editor: Emmi Laine