ABOUT 15 billion yuan (US$2.42 billion) flowed into Shanghai’s top four exchange-traded funds (ETFs) Tuesday, the second consecutive day of strong inflows into the blue chip-focused funds.

    During the prior session, nearly 10 billion yuan flowed into the four major ETFs — China AMC 50 ETF, Huatai-PB CSI300 ETF, China AMC CSI300 ETF and Hua An Shanghai 180 ETF — stock exchange data showed.

    The exchange does not disclose who was buying into the ETFs but the concentrated surge of money into funds that track China’s key indices has fueled speculation that institutions linked to the government, or even sovereign wealth funds, were behind the move.

    China has announced a slew of market-friendly policies over the past few days, including an interest rate cut, a planned expansion of pension funds’ investment channels and calls for bottom-fishing by fund managers, to temper panic selling that had knocked key indices down more than 20 percent from their mid-June peak, threatening further strains on the already slowing economy and financial system.

    Shanghai Securities News estimated that domestic insurers deployed at least 10 billion yuan to buy into stocks Tuesday, helping main indices reverse early losses and end the session significantly higher.

    But some analysts warn it is too early to judge that the correction is over.

    “More observation is needed to judge whether the market has stopped its slide,” said Zhou Lin, analyst at Huatai Securities Co. “If you look at the degree of correction, you can even call this a bear market, or a monkey market, if you look at the volatility.” (SD-Agencies)