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Friends, today marks the first trading day after the holiday, and the three major A-share indices fell significantly. Some netizens remarked that the hoped-for "strong start" did not materialize and asked whether the market could show some strength.

Data showed that today's net outflow of main funds exceeded 56 billion yuan. The A-share "stock king," Lianxun Instruments, saw its share price plunge, closing down 8.19% at 1,420 yuan per share, with a latest market value of 215.76 billion yuan.

Let's look at the specifics of today's A-share market. As of the close on October 8, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.79%, the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 2.07%, the ChiNext Index declined 3.15%, the Beijing Stock Exchange 50 fell 2.65%, and the STAR 50 Index tumbled 4.82%. Total market turnover reached 1.6943 trillion yuan, an increase of 244.2 billion yuan from the previous day, with more than 3,700 stocks declining across the market. Oil and gas exploration and services, batteries, and banking sectors led the gains, while semiconductors, automotive chips, CPO (co-packaged optics), glass substrates, and memory chips were among the biggest decliners.

The oil and gas exploration and services sector surged today. Keli Co. jumped nearly 10%, with Bomeike, Tongyuan Petroleum, and Shouhua Gas rising in tandem. The minutes of the Federal Reserve's September monetary policy meeting, released on October 7, showed that most Fed officials believed another benchmark rate hike before the end of the year "may be appropriate," but the decision would depend on new market information and an assessment of overall risks. The minutes showed that although Fed officials agreed to raise rates, their reasons differed. Some participants said a rate hike would help prevent energy market shocks and industry-wide price increases driven by AI-related demand, thereby reducing inflationary pressure. Others noted that the current rate is not restrictive or only mildly restrictive and should be adjusted in a timely manner to suit market conditions. In addition, Middle East tensions have escalated recently. A U.S. news outlet reported on October 7, citing multiple U.S. officials, that the U.S. Department of Defense had instructed U.S. Central Command to complete preparations within days for restarting large-scale military operations against Iran. According to maritime security sources tracking related incidents, as Gulf oil-producing countries strongly pushed exports, oil tanker attacks through the Strait of Hormuz last week hit the highest weekly record since the outbreak of the Iran war. Industry insiders believe that the recent escalation of Middle East tensions directly threatens the chokepoint for about one-third of global seaborne oil trade, triggering strong concerns about crude supply disruptions and driving a rally in the oil and petrochemical sector.

The battery sector led gains today. On the news front, the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the New Battery Industry," jointly formulated by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other departments, was officially released recently. Debon Securities analyzed that this is China's first national-level special plan in the battery field and the first time the concept of "new batteries" has been clearly defined at the national level. According to the plan, by 2030, China's new battery industry scale will achieve steady growth. Full-chain innovation capability will continue to strengthen, with new breakthroughs in advanced electrode materials, new electrolytes, and high-end auxiliary materials. Research and development of new-system batteries will make major progress, all-solid-state batteries will initially achieve large-scale application, the cycle life of long-life lithium batteries will reach 15,000 cycles, and the product defect rate of leading enterprises will reach the PPB level. Industry insiders believe that the "15th Five-Year Plan" period will be a strategic opportunity to comprehensively consolidate China's global competitive advantage in the new battery industry, and the all-solid-state battery supply chain, sodium battery supply chain, new battery materials and equipment, and battery recycling tracks are expected to see breakthroughs.

The banking sector was active today. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Bank of Qingdao, and Bank of Hangzhou posted gains, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, and Bank of Hangzhou hit intraday highs. Several institutions believe that policies intensively introduced before the holiday are improving banks' operating environment, and the sector's upward driver is shifting from pure defense to multiple supports. Zheshang Securities said that policies such as mortgage interest subsidies, expansion of structural relending, and PSL (pledged supplementary lending) rate cuts have been implemented in a concentrated manner, marginally improving banks' operating environment, with the sector's logic extending from defense to "stabilizing mortgages, expanding credit, and stabilizing investment." Kailuan Securities believes the policy tone continues and dividend attributes remain favorable, noting that banks with clear liability cost advantages and stable core deposits are more advantaged. China Securities Co. said in a recent strategy weekly report that at the strategy level it still allocates banks as a "defensive" dividend bottom position, but its overall market view is "continued volatility, balancing offense and defense." (Note: This article does not constitute any investment advice.)