Shanghai: Shares rally more than 2% by lunch

[HONG KONG] Shanghai stocks surged more than two per cent on Tuesday morning after the Chinese central bank pumped billions of dollars into financial markets to provide liquidity ahead of next week's Lunar New Year holiday.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.36 per cent, or 63.37 points, to 2,752.22 and the Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China's second exchange, jumped 3.48 per cent, or 58.26 points, to 1,730.17.

But Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.79 per cent, or 155.56 points, to 19,439.94.

AFP