China's shares rebounded sharply on Friday as investors saw little possibility for the central authorities to introduce drastic control measures to cool off the booming economy.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A- and B-shares, climbed 2.87 percent to 3,548.12 points in the morning session. It plunged 4.52 percent on Thursday before the release of China's first quarter economic data.

The plunge came as investors locked in profits amid worries that an over-heated economy might prompt the central government to introduce drastic control measures as economists earlier estimated the economy might expand 11.2 percent in the first three months.

Li Xiaochao, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, said on Thursday afternoon that China's economy grew 11.1 percent in the first quarter.

Li, however, said the economy was shifting from relatively fast growth to over-heating. And the government would likely take smaller steps to ensure a stable and fast economic growth.

Heavyweights began to recover their lost ground. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China gained 1.53 percent to 5.30 yuan, and Bank of China added 1.48 percent to 5.50 yuan.

China Life, the country's biggest insurer, rose 2.65 percent to 36.40 yuan. Citic Securities, the biggest publicly traded brokerage, jumped 4.47 percent to 49.60 yuan.

The Component Index on the smaller Shenzhen Stock Exchange jumped 3.18 percent to close the morning session at 10,170.57 points. It slumped 5.23 percent to close at 9,857.23 points on Thursday.

Source: Xinhua