The three major stock indices in Shanghai and Shenzhen opened with slight declines on the morning of August 21, then briefly dipped before recovering to hover near midday closing levels. The Shenzhen Component Index and the ChiNext Index each posted intraday gains exceeding 1%. In the afternoon, the three major indices largely maintained a narrow trading range until the close.
The combined trading volume across the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing markets stood at 1.8924 trillion yuan, down approximately 201.7 billion yuan from the previous session. Sector-wise, precious metals, energy metals, and industrial metals led the gains in early trading, with companies such as Hunan Silver, Baiyin Nonferrous, and Rongjie Co., Ltd. hitting their daily price limits. Throughout the day, sectors including precious metals, energy metals, and lithium mining concepts advanced, while gene editing, monoclonal antibody, and SPD concepts declined.
By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index stood at 3,905.2 points, up 0.04%, with turnover of about 883.423 billion yuan. The Shenzhen Component Index closed at 14,094.17 points, up 0.87%, with turnover of about 995.841 billion yuan. The ChiNext Index finished at 3,545.58 points, up 1.43%, with turnover of about 494.485 billion yuan. The STAR Market Composite Index closed at 1,956.85 points, down 0.05%, with turnover of approximately 292.227 billion yuan.
Institutional Perspectives
Pacific Securities highlights a rebalancing opportunity in the consumer sector. Chip positioning has been deeply cleared, currently sitting at the lowest level in 20 years of history, even below the bottom of the baijiu bear market in Q3 2016. In terms of valuation, the food and beverage sector's PE (TTM) is approximately 21x, at the 5th percentile of the past decade. Many companies with double-digit growth have seen their valuations fall to a 10-20x range this year. Institutional holdings and valuations are at historical extremes, pessimistic expectations have been fully priced in, and the consumer sector has entered a rebalancing window after the "low valuation, low positioning, low expectations" phase, making its allocation value increasingly apparent.
Everbright Securities believes that the intensity and persistence of the "anti-involution" campaign in the express delivery industry in 2026 are expected to exceed expectations, effectively easing competitive pressure and allowing industry pricing to gradually recover, which should support a continued recovery in profitability. Amid slowing industry growth driven by high e-commerce operating costs and a mild winter, the firm continues to favor express delivery leaders that are optimizing business structures, building differentiated competitive advantages, and rapidly expanding overseas operations.
Guosen Securities notes that domestic vehicle manufacturers are continuing to advance channel construction, enrich product portfolios, and accelerate overseas expansion. In July 2026, national passenger car retail sales reached 1.461 million units, with cumulative sales of 10.173 million units in the first seven months. New energy passenger vehicle retail sales in July totaled 951,000 units, with cumulative sales of 5.668 million units in the first seven months, achieving a penetration rate of 65.1%, up 11.6 percentage points year-on-year and 2.1 percentage points month-on-month. Over the medium to long term, under the trends of domestic brand ascendancy and electric-intelligent vehicles, the firm is optimistic about investment opportunities in overseas expansion and industrial upgrading. Against the backdrop of China's manufacturing rise, it also favors accelerating overseas expansion across passenger cars, heavy trucks, buses, and two-wheelers.
News Highlights
The Shanghai Free Trade Zone's Lingang New Area is projected to form three trillion-yuan-level manufacturing clusters. A Shanghai municipal government press conference was held on August 21 to interpret the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Lingang New Area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone." Officials from the Lingang New Area Management Committee stated that by the end of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the area is expected to form three manufacturing clusters each exceeding 100 billion yuan in output value, with total industrial output value above designated size surpassing 650 billion yuan by 2030. The integrated circuit cluster will center on wafer manufacturing and high-end packaging and testing, driving a full-chain layout across design, equipment, and materials, with output value exceeding 120 billion yuan. The intelligent vehicle cluster will focus on smart technology breakthroughs, with output value surpassing 300 billion yuan. The high-end equipment cluster will target new energy storage and energy equipment, with output value exceeding 100 billion yuan. Additionally, around key areas such as large aircraft final assembly supporting structures, composite materials, airborne equipment, and engines, civil aviation output value is targeted to exceed 50 billion yuan.
Chongqing has upgraded its plans to build a Chengdu-Chongqing "Hydrogen Corridor" and "Electric Corridor," as well as a "Hydrogen Corridor" along the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. The Chongqing Municipal People's Government recently issued the "Chongqing 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Beautiful Chongqing (2026-2030)," which proposes establishing a green and efficient transportation system. The plan calls for vigorously developing rail-water intermodal transport, river-sea intermodal transport, and water-to-water transshipment, accelerating the construction of dedicated railway lines for ports and industrial parks, and promoting the transformation of bulk freight logistics and distribution toward "railway plus new energy heavy trucks plus megawatt ultra-fast charging stations." It also involves advancing the construction of mountain city trails and three-dimensional pedestrian crossings, improving the "rail plus bus plus slow travel" green mobility system, deepening the integration of transportation infrastructure with the energy grid, and upgrading the Chengdu-Chongqing "Hydrogen Corridor" and "Electric Corridor" as well as the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor's "Hydrogen Corridor."