Authorities’ request for state-owned insurance companies and mutual funds to invest more in stocks got a lackluster market reaction.

Asian shares were mixed on Thursday after China rolled out more moves to try to boost its lagging stock markets by raising confidence that prices will rise. Officials in Beijing said pension funds and mutual funds would be required to increase purchases of shares,

China on Thursday detailed measures to encourage state-owned funds and insurers to buy more shares, aimed at stabilizing the struggling stock market at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing to announce tariffs on Chinese imports.

Starting this year, 30 per cent of the annual insurance premium from new policies will be put into yuan-denominated A shares, regulator Wu Qing said.

China said on Wednesday it will guide big state insurers and commercial insurance funds to increase investments in the A-share market, in a latest move to boost its lagging stock market. Under a plan jointly released by six financial regulators including the securities regulator,

State-owned insurers and mutual funds are expected to play a pivotal role in the process of stabilizing the stock market.

China has announced plans to inject hundreds of billions of yuan into its equity markets annually, aiming to bolster investor confidence. In the first half of the year, state-owned insurers will invest at least 100