Shanghai stocks traded almost flat this morning as the market reopened after the weeklong Spring Festival holiday. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index inched up 0.04 percent to 2,433.4 points by the noon break.

Banks gained on speculations that lending will increase this year after the central bank data released on February 8, the last trading day before the holiday, showed lending in January hit a 3-year high. Industrial Bank rose 1.6 percent to 19.92 yuan. Agricultural Bank of China climbed 1.3 percent to 3.14 yuan.

Tourism-related companies were mixed after the State Council, the Chinese cabinet, issued a circular today, stressing the need to promote paid holidays and stimulate tourist spending.

More investment will be made to improve tourism infrastructure, reduce ticket prices charged by scenic spots, and enrich tourist programs, the circular said.

China United Travel Co added 0.3 percent to 4.08 yuan. Beijing Capital Tourism Co lost 1 percent to 11.98 yuan.

The weeklong Spring Festival holiday generated more than 100 billion yuan (US$16 billion) in tourism revenue, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday.