The government has fired up investors by encouraging banks to lend more to buyers of stock and real estate, but officials refrained on Tuesday from promising more stimulus.

China's stock markets roared back from a week-long break and climbed to their highest levels in more than two years at the open, but lost steam after officials failed to inspire confidence in stimulus plans intended to turnaround a sputtering economy.

Stock futures slipped on Monday as a lack of clarity from China on the far-reaching stimulus package announced by the People’s Bank of China two weeks ago led to sharp drops in