BEIJING, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's major stock indices ended higher in the morning session Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.11 percent at 2,633.46 points.

Photos: VCG

The Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.71 percent to end at 7,888.26 points at midday.  

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, went up 0.99 percent to 1,382.3 points in the morning session.

The ChiNext Index, together with the Shenzhen Component Index and the Shenzhen SME (small- and medium-sized enterprises) Board Index, are major indices reflecting the performance of stocks listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The ChiNext Board, which started trading on Oct. 30, 2009, mainly lists high-tech companies and those with high growth potential.

Meanwhile, the central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 153 basis points to 6.9629 against the US dollar, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the US dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.  

Tokyo stocks plunged Tuesday morning following Wall Street's overnight rout which was sparked by a parts supplier for Apple Inc.'s iPhone reducing its earnings guidance.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 715.43 points, or 3.21 percent, from Monday to 21,554.45.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, fell 46.86 points, or 2.80 percent, at 1,625.09.

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hina's five-year treasury bond futures opened mixed on Tuesday, with the contract for settlement in December 2018 opening 0.09 percent higher at 98.56 yuan ($14).

File photos: VCG

The contract for settlement in March 2019 opened flat at 98.46 yuan. The contract for settlement in June 2019 had no trading at opening.

The contracts are agreements to buy or sell treasury bonds at a predetermined price on a set date. They allow investors to bet on and profit from the movements in the value of the bonds.

The treasury bond futures were launched at the Shanghai-based China Financial Futures Exchange and started trading on Sept. 6, 2013.

China's Hushen 300 index futures opened lower on Tuesday, as the contract for settlement in November 2018 opened 1.22 percent lower at 3,165.8 points.

Hong Kong stocks lost 540.88 points, or 2.11 percent, to open at 25,092.3 points.

The gold price in Hong Kong went down HK$30 to open at $11,240 ($1,435.50) per tael on Tuesday, according to the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society. ($1 equals HK$7.83 HK).