Chinese authorities are planning to spend billions to keep the country’s stock market buoyant. I don’t know about you, but if I were faced with 200 million angry retail investors whose portfolios have just been smashed, I’d be going for the pump as well.

The lowdown

• 📈 The Dow has closed above 38,000 for the first time.

• 📲 The SEC blames a ‘SIM swap’ attack for the hack on its X account.

• 💰 The world’s largest hedge funds record a bumper year of profits.

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China is considering $278 billion of stock market stimulus

China is considering a rescue package ($) to stave off a slump in the country’s stock market. Policymakers are reportedly looking at mobilizing 2 trillion yuan ($278 billion), mainly from the offshore accounts of state-owned companies, to buy up domestic stocks. The plans may be announced this week if they’re signed off by top leadership.

The move highlights the urgency to remedy the selloff in the benchmark CSI 300 Index, which hit a five-year low this week. Chinese retail investors have already been hit by the property downturn, so part of the logic is to maintain social stability.

The Hong Kong market is a good barometer of international appetite for Chinese stocks because Beijing’s interference is less felt there. An index tracking the price of mainland stocks versus their dual listings in Hong Kong hit its widest since 2009 ($), implying a 36% discount for the offshore market.

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The bottom line