The People's Bank of China on Tuesday announced cuts to benchmark interest rates, lowering its lending and deposit rates by 0.25 percentage point. The rate cuts are effective on Wednesday and aimed a reducing corporate borrowing costs, the bank said, according to Dow Jones Newswires reports. China's central bank also reduced its reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage point, with that requirement effective on Sept. 6. The reserve cuts are meant to ensure enough liquidity and stable credit growth, the bank said. The move comes after a session in which the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP, -1.28% plunged 7.6%, bringing two-day losses to more than 15%. U.S. stock futures, which were surging before the China news, added to their gains.