The Shanghai Composite Index opened 28.85 points higher, or 0.76 percent, at 3,833.54 points today after China announced it will accelerate fiscal spending and introduce additional measures to support economic growth in the second half of the year. A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China acknowledged that the economy is facing multiple difficulties and challenges, and pledged to step up efforts to boost domestic demand. Meanwhile, China's National Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release the manufacturing and services purchasing managers' index for July today.