HONG KONG, Sept 24, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks rallied Tuesday after China unveiled fresh stimulus measures as the country's leaders struggle to kickstart growth in the world's number two economy.

After a string of weak data that has fanned worries about the financial health of the country and led to calls for more help to boost growth, the central bank said it would make it easier for lenders and lower a key interest rate.

The decision came as traders were already upbeat after the Federal Reserve last week lowered borrowing costs for the first time since 2020 and indicated more were in the pipeline through to 2026.

China's economy, the world's second-largest, has yet to achieve a highly anticipated post-pandemic recovery as it is battered by a prolonged property sector debt crisis, continued deflationary pressure and high unemployment.

While Beijing has resisted calls to unveil a so-called bazooka stimulus similar to that seen during the global financial crisis, it has pushed through a series of piecemeal measures that appear to have done little to turn things around.

People's Bank of China chief Pan Gongsheng told a news conference that "the reserve requirement ratio will be cut by 0.5 percentage points in the near future to provide long-term liquidity to the financial market of about one trillion yuan ($141.7 billion)".

It will also "lower the interest rates of existing mortgage loans and unify the down payment ratios for mortgage loans", he added.

Hong Kong stocks jumped more than two percent and Shanghai was up around 0.8 percent.

There were also gains in Tokyo as dealers returned from a long weekend, while Singapore and Manila also rose, but Sydney, Seoul, Taipei and Wellington retreated.

The advances came after a positive day on Wall Street, where the Dow and S&P 500 ended at new record highs.

Traders are awaiting the release Friday of the personal consumption expenditures index -- the Fed's preferred inflation metric -- hoping for an idea about its next rate move.

After Wednesday's bumper 50-basis-point cut, debate is now swirling about how big monetary policymakers will go at their next meeting.

Minneapolis Fed boss Neel Kashkari said he was for another big reduction owing to weakness in the labour market, while his Chicago counterpart Austan Goolsbee added that slowing jobs growth would likely mean there were many more cuts to come.

Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic said he wanted to base his decision on incoming data.

- Key figures around 0230 GMT -

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent to 37,974.98 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.3 percent to 18,673.74

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.8 percent to 2,770.82

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1107 from $1.1113 on Monday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3349 from $1.3345

Dollar/yen: UP at 143.66 yen from 143.57 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.20 pence from 83.27 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $70.80 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $74.31 per barrel

New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 42,124.65 points (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,259.71 (close)