Shanghai Composite Index rise for a 7th day, nearing 3000 points

The Shanghai Composite Index (SSE) marked the seventh consecutive trading day of gains on Thursday, which closed near the 3,000-point psychological mark.

The SSE closed up 1.27 percent at 2988.36 points on Thursday. The rally has been driven by a number of factors, including continued policy support from regulators and inflows from long-term investors.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has announced to suspend new securities lending and encouraged merger, acquisition and restructuring among listed companies earlier this month.

The commission has also held a series of meetings with experts and market participants to discuss ways to further improve the capital market on February 18-19.

Experts who participated in the CSRC meetings have called for a combination of short-term measures to boost investor confidence and long-term reforms to improve the capital market.

The current stock market requires continuous efforts to stabilize expectations in the short term and promote vigorous long-term institutional reform and construction, Wu Xiaoqiu, dean of the National Finance Research Institute at Renmin University of China, told the Economic Observer.

Increasing investment returns is the primary task in effectively enhancing investor confidence, Tian Xuan, associate dean at PBC School of Finance of Tsinghua University, told the newspaper. Prioritizing improvements in listed company quality is key to driving investment, he added.

U.S. asset managers are also positioning themselves for Chinese market recovery. Viewing it as a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to acquire Chinese equities at historically low valuations, Jonathan Krane, CEO of China-focused ETF provider KraneShares, told Reuters on Tuesday.

China announced greater-than-expected key mortgage rates cut on Tuesday that cheered investors. To further help boost market confidence, Chen Jiahe, chief investment officer at Novem Arcae Technologies, told CGTN that lowering interest rates is one among several monetary tools. 

More targeted fiscal tools, however, will prove to be more effective in fine-tuning the economy, as they can be directed towards specific industries requiring development, Chen added.