Stock markets in Shanghai and Shenzhen finished north of even Monday on the back of gains in several heavily weighted sectors, including banking, real estate and securities.

The Shanghai Composite Index added 4.46 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 2,132.76; while the Shenzhen Component Index edged up 0.38 percent, or 33.02 points, to finish at 8,829.44.

Both indices opened lower Monday and traded within a narrow range in the morning session. Property, financial and coal stocks surged later in the day, pulling the markets into positive territory by the early afternoon.

Property developers saw their revenue from home sales jump 9.4 percent year-on-year in September, down from an on-year advance of 25.1 percent in August, according to information released Monday by China Jianyin Investment Securities. The drop in earnings indicates that home sales are slowing, which may convince the government to hold off on imposing new cooling measures on the domestic housing market, according to the China Business News citing analysts from the brokerage.

Real estate stocks surged broadly on this news. Jiangxi Zhong Jiang Real Estate Co, AVIC Real Estate Holding Company and Vanfund Real Estate Co all shot to the daily limit to close at 6.78 yuan ($1.08), 5.63 yuan and 6.55 yuan respectively.

Chinese brokerages also largely outperformed Monday. Gf Securities Co tacked on 2.62 percent to 14.09 yuan, while Industrial Securities Co increased 2.22 percent to 11.05 yuan on the day.