China cuts interest rates to halt stock market crash

China's central bank has taken action to halt the dramatic sell-off in Chinese stocks by cutting interest rates for the fifth time since November.

The move follows days of severe losses on the Shanghai market, including a 7% slide today.

The People's Bank of China lowered both the one-year lending rate and the one-year deposit by 25 basis points to 4.6% and 1.75%, respectively.

Many had expected the Bank to move earlier to stem the declines, which had triggered a global market rout.

Global markets suffered their worst day of trading since the financial crisis yesterday and an estimated $5 trillion had been wiped from the value of stocks around the world in just 11 days.

Some markets, including London's FTSE 100 index, have since begun to bounce back.