As the biggest sell-off in more than four years hit Chinese equities on Monday, speculation grew that China’s so-called “national team” of state-backed buyers would enter the market and cushion the blow from the coronavirus-driven drop.

But traders at brokerages and asset managers in China said the team mostly kept its powder dry on Monday. It was not until after market close that state media confirmed the cavalry was prepped and ready — specifically, a group of Chinese insurers with Rmb100bn ($14.3bn) ready to plough into the stock market if necessary.

That helped bolster investor sentiment, with the benchmark CSI 300 index of Shanghai and Shenzhen-listed stocks climbing 2.6 per cent on Tuesday after dropping about 8 per cent during the previous session. But longtime observers chalked the gains up mostly due to faith in the buying power of the national team, rather than any evidence a bailout was already under way.