Turnover hits record high on China's stock markets

BEIJING -- The combined turnover of China's Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses reached 3.45 trillion yuan (about $487.92 billion) on Tuesday, surpassing the 2.59 trillion-yuan turnover recorded on Sept 30 and hitting a new high.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index went up 4.59 percent to close at 3,489.78 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index closed 9.17 percent higher at 11,495.1 points.

Over 5,000 stocks ended higher, with the server-operating-system and semiconductor sectors leading the gains.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 17.25 percent to close at 2,550.28 points.

The market sentiment rose strongly on the Chinese government's announcement of a mix of policy measures including monetary stimulus and property market support policies to galvanize the economy's rebound.

On Sept 24, the People's Bank of China announced a cut in the reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points for financial institutions. On Sept 29, it announced a reduction in the mortgage rates for first homes, second homes and more by no lower than 30 basis points below the loan prime rate by the end of this month.

On the same day, China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development also vowed support to stabilize the real estate market, by encouraging municipal governments, especially those in the first-tier cities, to leverage their decision-making powers to regulate the real estate market, and adjust policies restricting housing purchases based on local conditions.

China is confident of achieving the full-year growth target, while mulling new supporting policies to sustain the steady and healthy economic growth, the country's top economic planner told a press conference Tuesday.

More efforts will be made to bolster the capital market, by vigorously guiding medium and long-term funds into the capital market, promoting mergers and acquisitions among listed companies, as well as mulling over and introducing measures to protect small and medium-sized investors, said Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission.