上海股市昨日大涨9.29%，创下6年半以来的最大单日涨幅，周三晚间宣布的降低股票交易印花税以提振投资者信心的消息收到了效果。上证综合指数收盘上涨304.7点，报收3583.028点。

Shares in Shanghai surged by 9.29 per cent yesterday – their biggest daily gain for six-and-a-half years – as cuts in the tax on share trading announced late on Wednesday to boost investor¹ confidence took effect. The composite index closed 304.7 points higher at 3,583.028.

在上海证交所上市的888家公司中，半数以上公司股价达到10%的涨停限制。这表明在昨日交易中买家对股票的需求可能尚未得到满足，市场今日可能进一步走高。

More than half of the 888 companies listed in Shanghai rose by 10 per cent, the maximum allowed by exchange rules. That suggests buyers’ demand for shares may have been unsatisfied yesterday, and that the market could rise further today.

由于上证综指在6个月内跌幅过半，令取空存款首次投资股票的散户投资者感到失望，政府一直面临提振股市的压力。

The government had been under pressure to do something to boost shares as the Shanghai Composite index more than halved² in six months, disappointing retail³ investors⁴ who had emptied their savings⁵ accounts to buy shares for the first time.

观察人士表示，随着奥运会日益临近，中国政府将希望股市再度上涨，因为这能够展示出中国经济迅速发展的成果。

Observers suggested that with the Olympics approaching, Beijing would prefer the stock market to be rising again as it showcases the results of its rapid economic development.

上海股市从2007年全球表现最好的市场之一，变成了走势最糟糕的一个市场。在去年2月份至10月份之间，上海股市飙升了141%。

Shanghai has turned from one of the world’s best performers in 2007 to one of the worst. Prices surged 141 per cent between February and October.

但在周二交易中，上证综指一度跌至2990.79点的13个月低点，较去年10月16日的高点下跌51.2%。

But during trading on Tuesday it sank to a 13-month low of 2990.79, a 51.2 per cent fall from its peak of October 16 2007.

中央电视台在周三收盘后报导，从4月24日起，政府将把股票交易印花税从0.3%降低至0.1%。这与去年5月份的一项决定正好相反，当时有关当局将印花税率从0.1%上调至0.3%，以此为市场降温，但未能收到成效。

State television said after the markets closed on Wednesday that the government would cut the stamp duty on each share trade from 0.3 to 0.1 per cent from yesterday morning. This reversed a decision in May last year, when the authorities tripled the tax to try, unsuccessfully, to cool the market.