Rate cut offers brief relief

China's stock market may rebound slightly after the impact of a further easing in monetary policy is felt, but long-term expectations of a further slowdown in economic growth are likely to moderate the uptrend, according to experts.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.78 percent to 3,336.29 at the close of Monday, the first trading day after an interest rate cut, but closed the week down 2 percent, at 3,241.19 on Friday.

The People's Bank of China, the nation's central bank, following an earlier cut in November 2014, announced a 25 basis point cut in benchmark interest rates from March 1, at the end of the Lunar New Year holiday and just before the start of the annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.