On August 14th, the major indexes of the A-share market all fell, and the trading volume of Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets has been below 500 billion yuan (RMB) for three consecutive days. In addition, the trading volume of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange hit a new low in nearly half a year.
Affected by the social financing data in July, on August 14th, the A-shares opened low and remained weak throughout the day. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.60% to 2850.65 points; the Shenzhen Component Index fell by 1.17% to 8311 points; the ChiNext Index fell by 1.42% to 1584.33 points; and the STAR 50 Index fell by 1.38% to 700.93 points.
The Shanghai market traded 207.458 billion yuan, the Shenzhen market traded 269.996 billion yuan, with a total trading volume of 477.453 billion yuan for both markets, falling below 500 billion yuan for three consecutive days.
On Monday (12th), the trading volume of the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets dropped below the 500 billion mark, reaching as low as 495.88 billion yuan, the lowest since May 25, 2020. On the 13th, the trading volume further shrank to 477.323 billion yuan, the lowest since December 24, 2019. Today (14th), the trading volume only slightly rebounded by over 100 million yuan.
Most individual stocks on the market showed more declines than gains, with over 3700 stocks falling.
Foreign capital represented by northbound funds net sold 7.166 billion yuan, with a total trading volume of 75.989 billion yuan, accounting for 15.91% of the total A-share trading volume.
Zhu Hualei, a senior investment consultant at Great Wall Securities, told Caixin that the market is still in a weak state. Recent market sentiment has been subdued, with sluggish trading reflecting a lack of market confidence. Rapid sector rotation and poor profit-taking effects have further dampened market sentiment. The pullback of previously speculative sectors has also led to capital outflows, with a prevailing defensive mood in the market.
Yuan Xiaoming, a senior investment consultant at Great Wall Securities, stated that the persistent downturn in the A-share market results from multiple factors, including domestic investors’ concerns about the macroeconomic trend and policy uncertainties. The continued low trading volume in the market reflects investors’ cautious attitude as they wait for clearer market signals or policy guidance.
The consecutive three days of trading volume below 500 billion in Shanghai and Shenzhen have raised concerns in the market.
Financial blogger and Weibo influencer “Stock Market Blade” said, “Another day of being tortured by the A-share market, while global markets are rising. Our market is falling. A-shares accelerated in the late afternoon and closed with a barefoot long black candlestick, a disappointing market indeed!”
“Trading volume has been below 500 billion for three consecutive days, setting new historical lows each day. Over 3700 stocks have seen declines, with the median down by 0.75%! Domestic capital fled by 8.45 billion, and foreign capital also saw an outflow of nearly 7.2 billion.”
The manager of Huatai Securities Co., Ltd. and Weibo influencer “Talking Stock Matters” posted, “It’s hard to explain in just a few words! The A-share market has seen trading volume drop below 500 billion for three days now. What is really happening behind the scenes?
“First, yesterday’s macro data, M1 and M2, as well as loan data, all fell short of expectations, while deposits kept rising. From the data, it can be seen that the desire for consumption and investment is still relatively weak. This is the direct cause of today’s weak market trend.
“Second, no policies were introduced. On the day when trading volume fell below 500 billion, everyone thought that stimulus policies would be immediately introduced to boost the market. However, there has been no positive policy announcement…”
Furthermore, due to the absence of overseas funds, trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has been lackluster for several days.
On the 14th, the Hang Seng Index fell by 60.7 points to 17,113 points, a decrease of 0.35%, with a trading volume of only 68 billion Hong Kong dollars, hitting a new low in nearly half a year. On the 12th, trading volume was 70.3 billion yuan, and on the 13th, it was only 70.8 billion yuan.
Some market analysts said that due to geopolitical influences, overseas capital did not flow into Hong Kong, and mainland funds were reluctant to enter the market due to economic weakness, the continued spread of the real estate debt crisis, and other factors.