Banks, Chinese Economy | featured news

China's economy hasn't shown any signs of rebounding in the third quarter, and domestic investment is unlikely to expand dramatically in the short term, a central bank adviser said.

Stocks edged slightly higher on Thursday, up for a fifth session, on better-than-expected jobless claims and trade data in the United States and hopes of further stimulus action from China's central bank.

China's second surprise rate cut and lending reform in the space of a month shows that Beijing wants borrowing to play a greater role in reviving an economy struggling with its weakest pace of growth since the global financial crisis.

China's central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves on Saturday, freeing an estimated 400 billion yuan ($63.5 billion) for lending to head-off the risk of a sudden slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.