Chinese shares jump higher in volatile trade

Chinese shares jumped higher on the first day of trade after a "circuit breaker" mechanism introduced to prevent sharp falls was lifted.

Regulators have stepped in after big losses in the mainland markets led trade to be suspended early on two occasions this week.

The sell-off came as a cheaper yuan led to worries that China's economy was slowing more than expected.
On Friday, the central bank set the yuan guidance rate higher.

The rest of Asia also recovered losses after the dramatic plunge in Chinese shares had triggered a global sell-off.

Markets in Europe and the US made steep losses overnight after trading in the world's second largest economy was closed within the first 30 minutes in the previous session, making it China's shortest trading day on record.

Regulators suspended the "circuit breaker" rule late on Thursday.

On Friday, the Shanghai Composite was up 1.8% to 3,184.25 as investor confidence grew on the new measures introduced by authorities to support the stock market.

The People's Bank of China (PBoC) set the daily yuan rate at 6.5646 - firmer than the previous day's rate, ending eight days of weakening the currency to boost exports.

Investors were worried that China's moves to weaken the yuan would spark a currency war in the region as other countries tried to remain competitive.

What are China's 'circuit-breakers'?

The measures were announced in December after a summer of dramatic market losses - used for the first time time on Monday and again on Thursday.

They automatically stop trading in stock markets that drop or appreciate too sharply - a 15-minute break if the CSI 300 Index moves 5% from the market's previous close, or a whole-day halt if it moves 7% or more.

Instead of calming investors, it fuelled selling pressure and was then suspended by authorities

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 1% to 20,539.98, while Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3% to 17,811.72.

But South Korean and Australian shares bucked the regional uptrend with Kospi index down 0.2% to 1,900.55, and the S&P/ASX 200 index losing 0.6% to 4,981.40.
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