On Sunday evening, Chinese investors waited and waited for an important stock market clue. For 48 hours, they had digested encouraging announcements from state-backed broker and fund management associations, signalling their intention to reverse a precipitous three-week slide in Chinese share prices.
But some analysts thought the signals ambiguous as they hoped for a more authoritative expression of support from the ruling Chinese Communist party’s state apparatus, such as the China Securities Regulatory Commission or even the State Council.
There was still the slight possibility that President Xi Jinping would stand by his pledge, spelt out two years ago in a historic party document, to let the