Speculation of more stimulus gives boost to the equity market

Chinese mainland shares rose to their highest level since May 2008 amid near-record turnover on speculation the government will do more to bolster growth.

The Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.1 percent to 3,577.30 points. The gauge has risen 77 percent during the past 12 months. Trading in Shanghai was almost double the 30-day average on Wednesday.

Interbank lending rates fell after the central bank lowered the yield in seven-day reverse-repurchase operations on Tuesday and rolled over 350 billion yuan ($56 billion) of loans to banks.