BEIJING - Chinese stocks opened significantly higher Monday after the central bank moved to ease short-term credit crunch and secure growth.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 1.12 percent to open at 2,383.69. The Shenzhen Component Index opened at 9,741.19, up 1.31 percent.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, on Saturday announced to lower banks' reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points to 20.5 percent for large commercial banks and 17 percent for mid- and small-sized banks.

The move will become effective on February 24 and release an estimated 400 billion yuan ($63.54 billion) in capital into the market.