Asian shares are mixed after China rolled out more moves to boost its lagging stock markets. Hong Kong and Shanghai rose but then shed some of their initial gains early Thursday. Officials in Beijing said pension funds and mutual funds would be required to increase purchases of shares,

BANGKOK (AP) — The Chinese government plans to ensure that share prices will rise by ordering pensions and mutual funds to invest more in domestic stocks, to help jolt the markets out of the doldrums.

China is guiding local mutual funds and insurers to boost their stock purchases in the government’s latest initiative to shore up its ailing equity market as it confronts the threat of higher tariffs.

The Chinese government aims to boost domestic stock markets by ordering pensions and mutual funds to significantly increase their investment in domestic shares. This strategic move is expected to infuse hundreds of billions of yuan into the market over the next three years.

China announced plans on Thursday to channel hundreds of billions of yuan of investment from state-owned insurers into shares as part of the government's latest efforts to support a struggling stock market.

Equities rally as authorities set explicit investment targets for mutual funds and state-owned insurance companies