Chinese stocks rally after stimulus measures

BEIJING -- Chinese stocks rallied on Friday, buoyed by a slew of policies introduced by the government to prop up the economy.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.88 percent to close at 3,087.53 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index soared 6.71 percent to reach 9,514.86 points at the close.

The combined turnover of stocks covered by the two indices stood at 1.45 trillion yuan ($206.84 billion), surpassing 1 trillion yuan for the third consecutive day.

Over 5,200 stocks ended higher -- with those related to the energy and metal sectors leading the gains.

China's central bank cut the reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points for financial institutions and lowered the interest rate of seven-day reverse repos by 20 basis points on Friday.

The interest rate of seven-day reverse repos, a key short-term policy rate, was lowered from 1.7 percent to 1.5 percent on Friday, according to the central bank. This drop is the largest in nearly four years.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, jumped 10 percent to close at 1,885.49 points on Friday.