Beijing, Aug 26 (IANS): Chinese stocks jumped several minutes after trade opened in the afternoon session on Wednesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up more than 3 percent.

In the morning session, Chinese shares continued to fluctuate despite intervention by the central bank, reported Xinhua.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened slightly higher before suffering a bout of jitters to dip below 2,900 points. It then rebounded to close the morning session 0.8 percent higher at 2,988.76.

The smaller Shenzhen Component Index edged up 0.02 percent to 10,200.38 points.

On Tuesday evening, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) cut interest rates for one-year lending and deposits by 25 basis points, and announced a reduction of the reserve requirement ratio (RRR), the portion of money banks need to set aside.

This is the fourth RRR reduction in nearly seven months, and the fifth round of interest cuts in nearly nine months.

The central bank said the move was aimed at supporting the real economy amid downward pressure on growth and fluctuations on global financial markets.

Chinese stocks have tumbled in the past week following the release of weak economic data and a depreciation of the yuan, with the benchmark Shanghai index diving 8.49 percent on Monday in its biggest daily slump since February 2007.