On Friday, July 24, the A-shares continued to decline, with major indexes falling across the board and individual stocks dropping. The trading volume fell below 2 trillion yuan (RMB), hitting a new low in over three months.
On July 24, the A-share market showed a trend of fluctuation and adjustment. At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index was at 3814.20 points, down by 1.61%; the Shenzhen Component Index was at 13774.68 points, down by 2.47%; and the ChiNext Index was at 3480.87 points, down by 2.65%.
Out of a total of 554 listed stocks, 493 witnessed a decline while only 61 recorded gains. The total trading volume of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets reached 1.93 trillion yuan, marking a new low since April 8 this year and a decrease of 264.2 billion yuan from the previous trading day.
The rise in risk-averse sentiment drove defensive sectors to perform strongly. Data from Wind showed that among the Shenwan First-class Industries, only the banking sector closed in the green, with an increase of 0.31%. Non-ferrous metals, conglomerates, and beauty care sectors led the losses, falling by 4.71%, 4.49%, and 3.83% respectively.
Regarding the market’s low-volume adjustment, Wu Zewei, a special researcher at Su Commerce Bank, stated in an interview with Securities Daily that the recent general weakening in the external markets has triggered a transmission of pessimistic sentiment. Coupled with A-shares being in a phase of emotional repair after a sharp decline, this has led to a decrease in market trading willingness, presenting a trend of low-volume consolidation.
Xia Fengguang, a fund manager at Rongzhi Investment, mentioned in an interview with Securities Daily that the market this week is in a volatile repair cycle of “rebound-pullback-low-volume”. The decreasing trading volume indicates that the market’s wait-and-see sentiment remains strong, and rebuilding confidence is not an immediate process; it requires waiting for clear signs of increased trading volume to confirm a trend reversal.
Recently, the A-share market has been on a persistent downward trend, with the Shanghai Composite Index plummeting by over 230 points within a week (from July 10 to 17), returning to the level of September 2025, leading to an extremely pessimistic market sentiment. Last weekend, the Chinese authorities released positive news, and on Monday, July 20, the A-share market opened high but ended up fluctuating downwards. The state-owned funds entered the market to stabilize it half an hour before the close, resulting in a marginal rise of 0.85% in the Shanghai Composite Index. However, individual stocks generally fell, with over 200 stocks hitting the limit down. On Tuesday, the A-shares saw a significant rebound, but the rebound on Wednesday and Thursday was weak, with major indexes and individual stocks falling. The situation worsened on Friday, with stock indices across the board declining and the trading volume falling below the 2 trillion mark.