INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SHANGHAI: China stocks inched higher on Tuesday after Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing would consider taking more measures to lower financing
costs for smaller companies.
The CSI300 index rose by 0.3 per cent, to 3,979.88, at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai
Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent, to 2,970.19.
Li said the measures included broad-based and "targeted" cuts in the reserve requirement
ratio (RRR), relending and rediscounting.
Chinese government bond futures edged up in early trade after Li's remarks.
In Hong Kong, stocks
slipped in the half day Christmas Eve session.
The Hang Seng index dropped 0.2 per cent, to 27,864.10, while the Hong Kong China Enterprises
Index lost 0.1 per cent, to 11,042.49.
Hong Kong markets will resume trading on Friday, Dec
27.
Around the region, MSCI's Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.08 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei index was down 0.05 per cent.
The
yuan was quoted at 7.0104 per U.S
dollar, 0.03 per cent firmer than the previous close of 7.0125.
As of 04:04 GMT, China's A-shares were trading at a premium of 25.26 per
cent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares.