On Friday, July 17th, the A-shares market experienced a steep decline, with over 5000 individual stocks falling and nearly 200 stocks hitting their downside limits. The ChiNext Index and the STAR 50 Index both plummeted by over 8% at one point during the day, with the Shanghai Composite Index breaking through the 3800-point mark and reaching a new low in nearly a year.
By the closing bell, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped by 3.05% to 3764.15 points, breaching the 3800-point mark and falling over 230 points within a week (as it closed at 3996.16 points on July 10th), reverting back to the levels seen in September 2025. This decline also pierced through the double bottom supports observed in late December of last year and late March of this year.
Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Component Index fell by 5.4% to 13706.88 points; the ChiNext Index plunged by 7.15% to 3428.63 points, marking the largest single-day drop this year; the STAR 50 Index tumbled by 7.12%, while the STAR Market Index plummeted by 8.13%; the CSI 50 Index declined by 2.63%, the CSI 300 Index plunged by 3.60%, and the SSE 50 Index dropped by 2.31%.
Out of a total of 482 listed stocks, only 35 stocks rose, while a staggering 5001 stocks went down, with 198 stocks hitting their downside limits.
According to data provided by Great Wisdom VIP, a total of 44 stocks on the two major exchanges and the SME board saw their prices surge by over 9%, whereas 816 stocks witnessed a drop of over 9%.
The total turnover on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges amounted to 2.6549 trillion yuan on this day, reflecting a significant increase of 251.3 billion yuan compared to the previous trading day. This substantial rise in trading volume accompanied the drastic market decline. Of this amount, the Shanghai Stock Exchange recorded a turnover of 1.2464 trillion yuan, up by 122.2 billion yuan from the day before, while the Shenzhen Stock Exchange saw a turnover of 1.4085 trillion yuan.
Amid the extreme risk aversion in the market, the electricity and banking sectors defied the trend by showing strength, while the entire technology growth track collapsed.
Looking at the market performance, the semiconductor and computing hardware industries witnessed significant declines, with CPO, storage, PCB, and lithography leading the downturn. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector experienced a sharp fall, with the CRO index dropping by over 10%. Sectors like photovoltaics, robotics, commercial aerospace, and AI applications were among those with prominent declines, while electric power stocks exhibited strength against the trend.
“Oriental Securities” pointed out that there has been a visible reversal in the style of A-shares, with significant divergences among different sectors, especially as the technology sector, which was highly sought after in the first half of the year, continued to decline. From a technical analysis perspective, the support level for the Shanghai Composite Index is around 3870 after breaching below 3900, which is also close to the critical level dating back to the “9.24 rally.” Breaching this level would signify a return to the major top of the past decade, indicating the failure of the market trend over the past two years.
The movement in A-shares has sparked widespread market attention.
Financial blogger “Give up My Stubbornness” posted, stating, “The core issue this time is different from the past; it’s not just about the high-tech sector but a general downtrend. This is the key problem. In addition to the Shanghai Composite Index, one can also look at the CSI 500 Index and the average stock prices. This week, the CSI 500 Index dropped by 8.14% and the average stock price fell by 13.88%. Comparing these two indices which cover the entire A-shares market, it is evident that the latter, which leans towards high-tech stocks, suffered a more significant decline. Even the relatively stable Shanghai Composite Index saw a 5.81% drop this week. When was the last time we witnessed such a massive decline? The Shanghai Composite Index has erased all gains made over the past year, turning into a golden pit!”
Financial blogger “Thirty-Seventh Return” expressed, “When the situation becomes impossible, thousands of words of advice and heartfelt pleas are not as effective as experiencing actual losses. I’ve done my best; it’s up to you to realize the truth.”
Financial blogger “Ideal Finance” stated, “I say, are you exhausted from constantly seeking reasons, finding reasons every day? Is it interesting or awkward? In such a vast market, if one cannot create momentum internally and keeps looking for external causes all the time, it’s a joke. As long as one is competent enough internally, external factors cannot sway them. Many people attribute today’s decline to external influences, but looking at the performance of external markets over the past few years, they have either achieved new highs or historical highs. Why haven’t they influenced A-shares in terms of reaching new highs? I hope the market will reflect more on its own reasons instead of always focusing outward. As long as one is competent internally, nobody can influence us.”
Weibo influencer “Wealthy Baby” commented, “With the stock market declining like this, the sales of smartphones, cars, and houses are also decreasing, hitting the basic bottom line. With everyone’s assets shrinking so much, who would have money to spend? Therefore, consumer stocks also remain unsold amidst the massive decline.”