China moves to halt crisis in markets

Beijing intensified efforts at the weekend to pull China’s stock markets out of a nosedive 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% plunge in three weeks, the Wall Street Journal said.

The reported suspension of IPOs came a few hours after extraordinary announcements by major brokers and fund managers, which collectively pledged to invest at least $19 billion of their own money into stocks.