Asian shares were mixed on Thursday after China rolled out more moves to try to boost its lagging stock markets by raising confidence that prices will rise. Officials in Beijing said pension funds and mutual funds would be required to increase purchases of shares,

Starting this year, 30 per cent of the annual insurance premium earned from new coverage policies will be put into yuan-denominated A shares, said Wu Qing.

China said on Wednesday it will guide big state insurers and commercial insurance funds to increase investments in the A-share market, in a latest move to boost its lagging stock market.

Asian equities were higher, except for Hong Kong and Mainland China, which were off following President Trump’s 10% tariff threat, which prompted profit-taking after six days of gains.