Friday, 28 August 2015 09:56
SHANGHAI: Shanghai stocks were up 1.93 percent at midday on Friday, extending gains after China cut interest rates earlier in the week and amid rises in global markets following days of turmoil.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 59.43 points to 3,143.02. The Shanghai market surged 5.34 percent on Thursday, cheered by a rally on Wall Street after the Chinese rate cut.
The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, added 1.87 percent, or 32.74 points, to 1,784.95.
Global markets were roiled this week on the potential impact of slowing growth in the Chinese economy, the world’s second-largest.
Authorities on Tuesday cut interest rates for the fifth time since November and reduced the amount of money banks must keep on hand in a bid to stimulate expansion, prompting widespread rallies, even though analysts say more action is needed.
“The short-term bottom is clear now,” Zhang Gang, an analyst with Central China Securities, told AFP.
“It will further rebound as the US and European markets rise on reduced expectations of an interest rate hike and a better-than-expected second-quarter GDP performance in the US,” he said, referring to earlier expectations for an increase in US interest rates which some believe might be delayed given market turmoil.
The US economy grew much stronger than expected in the second quarter, expanding at an annual rate of 3.7 percent, official data showed Thursday.
