China's stocks rose for a fourth day even as Premier Wen Jiabao has called on the need to fine tune economic policies, which has resulted in expectation of easing monetary policy though a decision was announced to suspend the easing of property restrictions in the third-tier city of Wuhu, in eastern Anhui province.

According to a statement on the local authority's Web site, Wuhu will temporarily suspend a home subsidy policy so it can study details on how to implement the rules. Earlier, it was reported that the city of Wuhu was examining a plan that would relax restrictions on the purchases of homes, easing limits on multiple home buyers and raising cash subsidies.

The city of Wuhu said Thursday that residents were eligible for subsidies and tax waivers for home purchases, stirring expectations that a broader loosening might be on the way around the country.

Faced with a slowing economy and persistent inflationary pressures, China is in a bind regarding its policies for the property sector. Income from land sales and property transaction-related fees has traditionally been a source of revenue for local governments in China.

Housing sales in China have plunged in recent months as home buyers have taken to the sidelines in anticipation of further declines in prices.

The average sale price of homes in Wuhu city was down 0.25 percent from a month earlier and 5.7 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to China Real Estate Index System, a private-sector data provider.

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