A-share midday review: Shanghai Composite Index slightly declines, real estate and non-banking financial sectors move higher against the trend

(Source: Sci-Tech 100 ETF Fund)

The three major A-share indices all declined in the morning session. By midday, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.04%, the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 0.4%, the ChiNext Index declined 0.58%, and the Beijing Securities 50 Index decreased 0.23%. The combined half-day trading volume of the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing markets was 1,377.9 billion yuan, 140 billion yuan less than the previous day. Over 3,400 stocks in the market declined.

In terms of sectors and themes, insurance, securities, real estate, steel, automotive, photovoltaic equipment, gaming, and power sectors led gains; oil and gas exploration and services, CPO, optical fiber, PET copper foil, cultivated diamonds, lithography machines, corn, and advanced packaging sectors saw the largest declines.

On the market, following the overnight Nvidia GTC conference, many AI hardware stocks such as CPO, optical fiber, and copper foil declined in the early session, with Juguang Technology, Zhongfu Electric Circuit (300814), and Tianfu Communications (300394) leading the declines. Oil and gas stocks followed the overnight drop in international oil prices, with stocks like Tongyuan Petroleum (300164), Intercontinental Oil & Gas (600759), and Sinopec Oilfield Service (600871) falling. Meanwhile, the real estate sector continued its recent rally, with Jingtou Development (600683) hitting three consecutive limit-ups, after Shanghai lowered the minimum down payment ratio for commercial property loans to no less than 30%. Non-bank financial sectors such as securities and insurance experienced intraday fluctuations; Guosen Securities and GF Securities saw activity, possibly influenced by market optimism after Ant Group’s acquisition offer for Yao Cai Securities was approved. Additionally, sectors like steel, automotive, and photovoltaic equipment showed some performance.

Top Limit-Up Ladder:

【4 consecutive limit-ups】 Farsight (000890), Sanfangxiang (600370).

【3 consecutive limit-ups】 Jingtou Development, Xihua Technology (603248), Yaxiang Integration (603929).

【2 consecutive limit-ups】 Shenhua Development A, China Power LiaoNeng (600396), Zhuolang Intelligent (rights protection) (600545), Chaoying Electronics (603175).

Main force net inflow sectors:

NO.1 【CIC Holdings】 net inflow of 8.773 billion yuan, with 145 stocks in the sector rising.

NO.2 【Tonghuashun (300033) Beautiful 100】 net inflow of 5.153 billion yuan, with 62 stocks in the sector rising.

NO.3 【Futures Concept】 net inflow of 3.971 billion yuan, with 59 stocks in the sector rising.

Hotspot Overview:

What’s hot in today’s market:

【Real Estate】

Related stocks: Jinneng Real Estate (600791), Jingtou Development, China Fortune Land Development (600340)

On March 16, the National Bureau of Statistics released data showing that in February, the month-on-month decline in the sales prices of commercial residential properties in 70 large and medium-sized cities continued to narrow, and year-on-year decline slowed. The latest data on national real estate development investment and sales show that from January to February, investment in real estate development nationwide was 9,612 billion yuan, down 11.1% year-on-year, with the decline narrowing by 6.1 percentage points compared to last year; at the end of February, the area of unsold commercial housing was 79.998 million square meters, up 0.1% year-on-year, the slowest growth since July 2021, indicating a beginning of market supply and demand balance.

【Steel】

Related stocks: Anyang Steel (600569), Shaogang Hongxing (600307), Zhongnan Shares (000717)

Cinda Securities (601059) pointed out that the steel industry is an “undervalued physical asset.” Looking ahead to the “14th Five-Year Plan,” the industry is expected to continue deepening “anti-involution” efforts, with long-term improvements in supply and demand. On the supply side, the “14th Five-Year Plan” explicitly promotes structural adjustments in the steel industry, strict regulation, market-oriented mergers and acquisitions, orderly exit of outdated and inefficient capacity, and comprehensive rectification of “involution” competition. On the demand side, policies will accelerate the construction of urban infrastructure lifeline projects, promote renovation of old pipelines, dangerous and dilapidated housing, and old neighborhoods, and steadily advance urban village redevelopment. In the short term, influenced by Iran-related tensions and upgrades in iron ore procurement restrictions, iron ore prices are expected to remain relatively strong, supporting steel costs. Under the long-term supply-demand improvement, short-term cost support, and low valuation logic, the steel sector is expected to see valuation recovery.

【Ant Group Concept】

Related stocks: GCL System Integration (002506), Huaxin Yongdao, New China Insurance (601336)

Ant Group’s acquisition offer for Yao Cai Securities has been approved, with completion expected around March 30. Yao Cai Securities will resume trading on March 17. The acquisition aims to obtain a Hong Kong brokerage license and accelerate international expansion. Ant Group will acquire 50.55% of Yao Cai Securities held by founder Ye Maolin, with a total consideration of approximately 2.814 billion HKD.