Trading tax cut to shore up market

The stamp tax on share trading will be cut steeply from today, the authorities announced yesterday - in what is seen as an attempt to prevent the fragile stock market from a further slump.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has plunged nearly 50 percent since last October despite a rebound yesterday before the announcement.

The stamp duty will be slashed to 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent, according to a notice issued by the Ministry of Finance and the General Administration of Taxation.