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Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks ended with healthy gains Thursday as traders welcomed a Chinese central bank move to provide billions of dollars in liquidity to institutions in a bid to boost markets.
The Hang Seng Index rallied 2.98 percent, or 614.74 points, to 21,251.98 as traders broke up for a long weekend.
The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.32 percent, or 43.07 points, to 3,301.93 but the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange dipped 0.37 percent, or 7.04 points, to 1,910.27.
Traders cheered as the central bank fleshed out plans to encourage “the healthy and stable development of the capital market” by opening up a “swap facility” worth 500 billion yuan ($70.6 billion) that will allow firms to access cash to buy stocks.
Companies will be allowed to use equities, bonds and other assets as collateral for “high-grade liquid assets such as treasury bonds and…
