BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China's major stock indices closed sharply higher in the morning session Thursday, the first trading day after the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1.95 percent to end at 3,261.55 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index rose 2.07 percent to end at 10,647.65 points.

Nonferrous metals, leisure and banking sectors led the gains, with over 20 shares going beyond the daily limit of 10 percent.

The rally tracked the sweeping gains across overseas markets last week, when China took a break for its national holiday.

Stepping out of its previous gloom, the Dow Jones industrial average has climbed 0.64 percent since Feb. 14, with the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average and the Hang Seng Index up 3.86 percent and 3 percent, respectively, over the last week.

Analysts forecast that the A-share market will rebound, given strong performance reported by listed companies.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's NASDAQ-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.88 percent to end at 1,677.66 points in the morning session Thursday.?