0443 GMT - China's latest budget released at the National People's Congress meeting ushers in an important policy shift towards stimulus that will support domestic equity markets, Eastspring Investments chief economist Ray Farris writes in a note. Beijing will likely to spend whatever it takes to keep the GDP growth above 4.5%, Farris says. The government may ultimately expand the augmented public sector deficit by more than current estimates of 1.7% to 1.8% of GDP this year, he says. The policymakers may fund this through fiscal deficit or even another increase in long-term bond issuance, he adds. The People's Bank of China could cut its reserve requirement ratio and interest rates by 50 basis points each this year, he says.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 11, 2025 00:43 ET (04:43 GMT)

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