China stocks extend rally to three-year high

Chinese stocks continued to advance in the morning session on Wednesday, with the benchmark index extending three-year highs as speculation of further policy easing boosted financial shares.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.47 percent to end the morning session at 2,776.48 points, extending Tuesday's 3.1-percent gain. The index has increased over 14 percent during the past month.

The Shenzhen Component Index rose 2.76 percent to end at 9,625.33 points.

Hong Yuan Securities surged by the daily limit of 10 percent. Everbright Securities increased 8.03 percent while Citic Securities and GF Securities both climbed more than 2 percent.

Data released in the morning showed the country's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 53.9 in November from a nine-month low of 53.8 in October.