Asian shares are higher after China's central bank released plans for supporting stock markets through share repurchases.

China's central bank kicked off two funding schemes on Friday that will initially pump 800 billion yuan ($112.38 billion) into the stock market through newly-created monetary policy tools. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) spelt out operational details of the swap and relending schemes first announced in late September,

China’s 200 million-strong army of retail investors was supposed to help the market turn a corner. Instead, it has become a source of weakness.

U.S. stocks were mostly rising midday Friday, with all three major benchmarks on track for weekly gains. The S&P 500 was up 17 points, or 0.3%, at almost 5,859. The Nasdaq Composite was advancing nearly 102 points, or 0.6%, to 18,475.

China's abrupt and ferocious stock market rally has slammed some of the country's biggest hedge funds, forcing them to hastily cover short positions and take losses on their bets in the heavily regulated derivatives market.

Asian shares have started the week on a high note, with stocks in China rising more than 1% after the finance minister said over the weekend that more stimulus is needed for the slowing economy.