In the backdrop of escalating trade war between the US and China, the A-share and Hong Kong stock markets faced a “Black Friday”. On October 17, A-shares fell across the board, with major indices plummeting, while at the same time, the Hang Seng Index and the Hang Seng Technology Index both hit one-month lows.
By the close of trading, the Shanghai Composite Index fell by 1.95% to 3839 points, below the 3900-point mark; the Shenzhen Component Index dropped by 3.04% to 12688.94 points; the ChiNext Index tumbled by 3.36% to 2935.37 points, officially breaking below 3000 points and the important 3400-point moving average; the STAR 50 Index plunged by 3.77% to 1363.17 points, hitting a near one-month low; and the SSE 50 Index fell by 3.75% to 1432.87 points.
Nearly 4800 individual stocks in the entire market experienced declines. The total turnover of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets reached 1.94 trillion yuan, down 69 billion from the previous trading day, ending a streak of over 40 consecutive trading days surpassing 2 trillion yuan in turnover.
On the market front, the power equipment sector saw declines with Central Heng Electric hitting the limit down; the superconducting concept weakened with Jingda Shares close to the limit down; the high-pressure fast charging and wireless charging sectors were sluggish with Igor hitting the limit down; wheel motor, photovoltaic equipment, liquid cooling concepts, and AI smartphones were among the sectors with the largest declines.
Debang Securities believes that the continuous shrinkage of market turnover below 2 trillion in the short term indicates cautious sentiment in the market, with more stocks falling than rising, making market operations more challenging. If there isn’t a pickup in turnover later on, the index may continue to face range-bound volatility pressure.
According to “Securities China”, analysts believe that the current trade environment is not conducive to valuation deduction, and many stocks that had previously risen sharply are now facing valuation normalization issues, reflected in the significant declines seen in certain stocks today.
As reported by “China Fund News”, as the weekend approaches, the market is concerned about further twists in the US-China trade dispute. American semiconductor manufacturer “Micron Technology” plans to stop supplying server-use chips to data centers in China.
Meanwhile, in the Hong Kong stock market, the Hang Seng Index fell by 2.48%, and the Hang Seng Technology Index dropped by 4.05%, both hitting one-month lows.
Currently, the US-China trade war has suddenly escalated. On October 9, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce unexpectedly announced a significant expansion of rare earth export controls, prompting Trump to announce a 100% tariff on Chinese goods. On the 15th, Trump openly stated that the US and China are already in a trade war.