At close of trade, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.75%, or 27.39 points, to 3,675.02. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, added 0.62%, or 15.82 points, to 2,559.31. The blue-chip CSI300 index was up 0.58%, or 28.83 points, to 5,034.73.
Market participants expects that the central bank to implement more easing measures to help arrest the economic slowdown after China's central bank partially rolled over maturing medium-term loans on Wednesday as it sought to boost liquidity. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) kept the rate on 500 billion yuan ($78.5 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans steady for the 20th straight month in December at 2.95%.An earlier decision by the PBOC to lower banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR) also came into effect on Wednesday, freeing up 1.2 trillion yuan worth of long-term funds. That also helped offset some of the 950 billion yuan worth of MLF loans due to mature on Wednesday.
Many market experts are expecting a chance of the central bank marginally reducing the lending benchmark Loan Prime Rate (LPR) due next Monday in a bid to counter the economic slowdown.
CURRENCY NEWS: China's yuan was up against the U.S. dollar on Thursday after firmer mid-point fixing by the central bank, on sustained year-end corporate demand. Prior to market opening, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC at 6.3637 per dollar, 79 pips, or 0.12%, firmer than the previous fix of 6.3716. In the spot market, the onshore yuan CNY=CFXS was changing hands at 6.3672 at midday, 8 pips firmer than the previous late session close.
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