(Yicai Global) Jan. 25 -- Stock markets on the Chinese mainland gained in morning trade to follow on from yesterday's performance as banks and insurers fared well.

The Shanghai Composite Index went into the lunch break at 2,606.58, up 0.57 percent, after CNY75.5 billion (USD11 billion) worth of shares swapped hands. The Shenzhen Component Index hit the mid-point 0.62 percent higher at 7,620.85 after investors traded CNY97.8 billion of shares and the ChiNext Index, which tracks growth enterprises in Shenzhen, was up 0.42 percent at 1,270.5 with a trading volume of CNY29.8 billion.

Insurers and banks led the gains, closing up 1.96 percent and 1.26 percent. Other big risers included real estate developers and furniture makers.

Confidence in financial firms was boosted today after the central bank, the People's Bank of China, reduced the reserve requirement ratio for the second time this year. It cut the rate by 0.5 point, matching the trimming it made on Jan. 15. Analysts expect the cuts to increase liquidity in the financial system by about CNY750 billion (USD110.7 billion).

Editor: James Boynton