The China Intervention Trade Is Back as State Funds Battle Bears

The resumption of afternoon rallies, a common occurrence during the height of the government's market rescue campaign in July, has presented traders with a quandary: Worsening economic data suggest stocks should fall, but state intervention provides an opportunity to profit from short-term gains. It's yet another sign of how government meddling has undermined the leadership's own pledge to increase the role of market forces in the world's second-largest economy.