China launches all-out bid to end stocks rout

Beijing

BEIJING intensified efforts over the weekend to pull China's stock markets out of a nose-dive that is threatening the world's second-largest economy, with top brokerages pledging to buy massive amounts of shares and a report that the government has set up a market stabilisation fund.

Beijing has also suspended new share offers in an attempt to take pressure off the market after a 30 per cent plunge in three weeks, The Wall Street Journal said.

The reported suspension of initial public offers (IPOs) came a few hours after extraordinary announcements by major brokers and fund managers, which collectively pledged to invest at leas…