The positive tones persist on the stock exchanges in China, following news of measures to kick-start the economy. On Friday, the central bank announced that the measures presented earlier in the week – lowered interest rates and lowered capital requirements on banks – are now being implemented.
The Shanghai composite index rose more than 2 percent at the opening, but had backed off slightly by lunchtime and was up a total of 1 percent. The Shenzhen composite index was up 4 percent.
The Hong Kong Hang Seng index also rose at the opening, more than 3 percent, but had stabilized around 2 percent by lunchtime.
In Japan, the key Nikkei 225 was up 0.1 percent, while the Topix index had fallen by 0.7 percent.
