Boosted by china real estate Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.99 percent on Monday, continuing Friday’s gains.

Boosted by chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission Liu Mingkang’s remarks over the weekend that the country should support a healthy real estate industry, housing shares rose across the board, said Li Hongyan, a Shandong-based Qilu Securities analyst.

China Vanke, the country’s top real estate developer, gained 3.82 percent to 8.96 yuan, while Poly Real Estate Co. jumped 6.67 percent to 15.36 yuan.

The real estate sector, which was a major driver of the stock market’s bullish trend last year to its pinnacle last October, has since declined along with the broader market. China Vanke, for example, is 77 percent below its peak in early November.