(Bloomberg) -- Several exchange-traded funds in China tracking the nation’s stocks saw a surge in turnover on the first trading day after the Lunar New Year holiday, a likely sign that state-backed funds continue to support the market. 

Traded values of China AMC CSI 500 ETF and Harvest CSI 500 ETF both surged to records, while those of Tianhong CSI 500 ETF, BOC International CSI 500 ETF and CIB CSI 500 ETF were higher than their average levels. 

Traders monitor some of these ETFs as likely purchase targets for state funds, and their turnover spikes have typically coincided with gains in the mainland stock indexes. The onshore benchmark CSI 300 Index climbed 1.2% Monday. 

“We don’t expect them to stop anytime in the near term as nothing has fundamentally changed over the past 1-2 weeks,” said Marvin Chen, a strategist with Bloomberg Intelligence, referring to ‘state funds.

The funds have been ramping up purchases of local shares since before the Lunar New Year holiday, in an effort to revive investor confidence. Central Huijin Investment Ltd., a sovereign fund that holds Chinese government stakes in large financial institutions, has said it will continue to increase holdings of exchange-traded funds. 

Inflows into a handful of ETFs tracking key gauges climbed to a record last month. They were more than five times the aggregate amount in July 2015, when the so-called national team jumped in to stem a rout.

“What’s interesting is that one week before the CNY, they started to buy more of CSI 500 and CSI 1000, which is new,” Jason Lui, BNP Paribas Head of APAC Equity & Derivative Strategy, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “That seems to me that they are broadening the scope and hopefully trying to reinforce the message that they do care about market stability.” 

READ: China sovereign funds’ ETF binge may lack depth needed for calm

--With assistance from Sangmi Cha.

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