Declines narrowed on China stocks at mid day

Declines narrowed on Chinese shares with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.24 percent to close at 4,003.54 points in the morning trading session on Thursday.

The index once dived 3.41 percent earlier in the morning.

The Shenzhen Component Index shed 1.30 percent to close at 13,473.94 points.

During Thursday's morning session, losers outnumbered winners by 725 to 199 in Shanghai, and by 1,075 to 295 in Shenzhen.

Stocks relating to oil, the Internet and medical care were biggest losers.

The ChiNext Index, China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 0.47 percent to end at 2,772.45 points.

Several favorable policies were rolled out on Wednesday night in response to the plunging stock market, which has been on a more than two-week losing streak.

The two exchanges, and China Securities Depository and Clearing Company announced that transaction fees and transfer fees were to be reduced on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the securities watchdog, announced that stock brokerages were allowed to issue bonds to widen funding channels.

The previously strict rules on margin trading business of brokerages were also relaxed by the CSRC.