The trading session opened on September 15th with modest declines across the board, as the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.14% to 3,879.73 points, the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 0.17% to 13,362.17 points, and the ChiNext Index slipped 0.14% to 3,280.85 points. The STAR 50 Index also opened lower by 0.26% at 1,524.27 points.
By 9:32 AM, market breadth showed 1,615 stocks advancing against 3,610 declining, with 337 remaining flat. Leading the gains were electronic components, minor metals, commercial vehicles, software development, copper-clad laminate (CCL) concepts, PTFE concepts, and tungsten-related themes. On the downside, planting, agricultural product processing, tourism and scenic areas, marine equipment, ground weapons systems, agricultural reclamation, grain, and cotton concepts all showed weakness.
The three major indices continued their divergence after the initial dip. By 9:32 AM, the Shanghai Composite had narrowed its decline to 0.05% at 3,883.44 points, the Shenzhen Component slipped 0.03% to 13,379.93 points, while the ChiNext Index fell 0.20% to 3,279.00 points. The STAR 50 Index bucked the trend, rising 0.34% to 1,533.51 points. Structurally, the CCL concept extended its prior session's momentum to lead the market, with the electronic components sector strengthening in tandem. PTFE and ceramic substrate concepts followed suit. The minor metals sector advanced on the back of tungsten price movements.
Conversely, agricultural-related stocks faced broad selling pressure, with planting, agricultural product processing, and fishery sectors leading declines, while reclamation, cotton, grain, and corn concepts retreated concurrently. Tourism and scenic areas, hotel and catering, ground weapons systems, and marine equipment sectors also performed poorly. At the individual stock level, 13 stocks hit their daily upside limits while 8 touched downside limits, with advancing stocks accounting for approximately 29% of the total market.
Looking at overnight developments, US CPI rose 3.4% year-over-year in August, in line with consensus expectations, while core CPI increased 0.3% month-over-month, slightly above forecasts. A Reuters poll indicated that 86 of 101 economists expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates to 3.75%-4.00% on September 16th. Additionally, over the weekend, three leading overseas AI companies called for a slowdown in frontier large-model development, putting pressure on global computing power stocks.
On the domestic policy front, eight ministries including the Ministry of Commerce issued an action plan to promote smart home consumption, proposing the use of personal consumption loan fiscal subsidy policies and guiding financial institutions to increase credit support for smart home purchases. On the same day, the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated it would guide listed companies to shorten payment cycles and promptly settle payments to small and medium-sized enterprises. The broad money supply M2 reached 356.81 trillion yuan at the end of August, growing 7.5% year-over-year.
In industry news, the National Medical Products Administration approved the release of the world's first brain-computer interface medical device standard utilizing AI technology to process EEG data, effective September 1, 2027. On the industry front, research reports from brokerages indicate that expanding AI server demand continues to drive prosperity across upstream electronic material segments such as CCL and MLCC.
Today's market shows modest opening declines with subsequent divergence, characterized by limited index volatility. The STAR 50 Index demonstrates relative strength while the ChiNext Index underperforms. Overnight inflation data and Fed rate hike expectations remain the primary external disturbances, with overseas computing power chip chains pulling back while A-share electronic upstream materials and minor metals show relative activity.
The CCL and electronic components segments within the AI server supply chain remain active, while minor metals strengthen on price movements. Previously hot sectors like planting, fishery, and tourism are retreating, reflecting rapid rotation and persistent market divergence. A major brokerage suggests that short-term external disturbances will likely have a phased impact on A-shares, with consolidation patterns expected to continue. The market may await a convergence of trend-driven volume expansion and policy expectation improvements before establishing clearer direction. Institutional attention remains concentrated on growth-oriented and cyclical recovery sectors.