CHINA’S stocks ended higher yesterday as the central bank vowed to stabilize the market, regaining some ground from the coronavirus-led rout in the previous session.

The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 1.3 percent at 2,783.29, the biggest daily gain since Dec. 13, 2019. The blue-chip CSI300 index jumped 2.6 percent, clocking its biggest daily gain since July 1, 2019. While the ChiNext Index gained 4.8 percent on its best day in nearly a year.

The gains follow a US$720 billion plunge in Chinese shares Monday. Even for an equity market that’s no stranger to volatility, declines of Monday’s magnitude are rare.

The CSI 300 Index has only dropped 7.5 percent or more on eight previous occasions in its almost 15-year history, and half of those were during the turmoil in 2015. The last time it happened — around the yuan devaluation in August that year — the benchmark fell another 7.1 percent the following day.

The central bank said yesterday that its huge liquidity injections through open market operations showed its determination to stabilize financial market expectations and restore market confidence. (SD-Agencies)