Chinese shares surge on stimulus package

BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) — Chinese stocks rallied on Tuesday, fueled by a package of stimulus measures announced on the same day.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was up 4.15 percent to 2,863.13 points, and the Shenzhen Component Index closed 4.36 percent higher at 8,435.7 points.
China’s central bank, top securities regulator and financial regulator earlier in the day announced a raft of monetary stimulus, property market support and capital market strengthening measures to support the country’s high-quality economic development at a press conference.
The country will cut the reserve requirement ratio, lower mortgage rates on existing home loans, and create new monetary policy tools to support the stock market, among others.
These policies, which exceed market expectations, will boost market confidence, stimulate the vitality of market entities, stabilize credit levels, and enhance the sustainability of financial support for the real economy, said Wen Bin, chief economist at China Minsheng Bank.
Gains are seen across the board on the two bourses, with shares related to steel and coal leading the surge.
The combined turnover of stocks covered by the two indices stood at 974.8 billion yuan (about 138.25 billion U.S. dollars), up from 551 billion yuan recorded on the previous trading day.
The ChiNext Index, tracking China’s Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, surged 5.54 percent to close at 1,615.32 points Tuesday. ■