Stock market today: World stocks gain as China releases plan to finance share buybacks
World shares are higher after China's central bank released plans for supporting stock markets through share repurchases
BANGKOK — World shares have mostly gained after China’s central bank released plans for supporting the stock market through share repurchases by companies and major shareholders.
European markets opened mostly higher, with Germany's DAX up 0.2% at 19,623.37. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.4% to 7,615.72. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.1% to 8,376.04.
The European Central Bank on Thursday cut its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, helping send shares higher.
The future for the S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.
Beijing also reported FRiday that the Chinese economy slowed further in the last quarter, which spurred expectations the government will ramp up its latest stimulus efforts. The world's second-largest economy expanded at a 4.6% annual pace in July-September, down slightly from 4.7% in the previous quarter.
Growth so far this year has averaged to 4.8%, below the official target of about 5%, as weakness in the property market has continued to weigh on demand.
Meanwhile, the central bank issued guidelines for state banks to provide loans to companies and major shareholders for stock repurchases as part of an effort to stabilize China’s share markets, which have languished in recent years.
The loans, which can be made only by 21 designated financial institutions, will have a maximum interest rate of 2.25%, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement that underscored plans for strict oversight of the effort to support the markets.
The news helped drive a rally in Shanghai, where the Composite index gained 2.9% to
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