On August 18, A-shares opened broadly higher with all three major indices rising during morning trading. The Shanghai Composite broke above 3700 points, while liquid cooling server and millet economy concept stocks remained active. Hong Kong stocks opened higher and continued to climb, with the Hang Seng Tech Index surging over 1% in early trading and major internet stocks rising across the board. JD.com and NetEase gained over 3%. In the bond market, government bond futures fell sharply, with the 30-year main contract dropping nearly 1%. On the commodity front, most domestic commodity futures rose, with lithium carbonate surging over 5%.
Core Market Performance:
A-shares: As of press time, Shanghai Composite rose 0.39%, Shenzhen Component Index gained 0.67%, and ChiNext Index climbed 0.64%.
Hong Kong stocks: As of press time, Hang Seng Index rose 0.35%, Hang Seng Tech Index surged 1.27%.
Bond market: Government bond futures fell across the board. As of press time, the 30-year main contract dropped 0.95%, 10-year main contract fell 0.24%, 5-year main contract declined 0.12%, and 2-year main contract slipped 0.04%.
Commodities: Domestic commodity futures rose broadly. As of press time, lithium carbonate surged over 5%, polysilicon and industrial silicon gained over 2%, container shipping index and glass rose over 1%, while coke, coking coal, soybean meal, rubber, iron ore, ferrosilicon, hot-rolled coil, pulp and others all moved higher. Asphalt, aluminum, and eggs declined.
09:49 The Beijing Stock Exchange 50 Index crossed above the 1500-point integer mark again, hitting a new historical high.
09:47 The Hang Seng Tech Index expanded gains to 1%. NIO surged over 7%, while JD.com and NetEase rose over 3%.
09:44 Film and entertainment stocks opened strong, with Mango Excellent Media, Bnc Culture Group, Zhejiang Huace Film & TV, and Huazhi Digital Media surging over 10%. Huanrui Century, Huayi Brothers Media, Jinyi Film & Television, Hengdian Entertainment, and Shanghai Film Group followed suit.
On the news front, according to online platform data, as of 4 AM on the 18th, total box office revenue for the 2025 summer season (including pre-sales) reached 9.956 billion yuan, with expectations to break through the 10 billion mark on the 18th. Total viewership has exceeded 260 million, showing significant growth compared to the same period last year.
09:36 The liquid cooling server concept continued last week's strong momentum, with Runhe Materials, Qiangrui Technology, and Goaland rising over 10%. Previously, Chuanrun Co. hit two consecutive daily limits, while Yinlun Machinery, Feilong Co., Chuanhuan Technology, Invt Electric, and Kstar followed suit.
09:34 Weight loss drug concept stocks strengthened, with Hanyu Pharmaceutical surging over 10%, Sunshine Guojian Pharmaceutical, Jinkairuisuokang Biotech, and Lepu Medical rising over 5%. Baihua Healthcare, Changshan Pharmaceutical, Sino Biological, Haofan Biology, and Deyuan Medicine followed.
On the news front, the U.S. FDA has accelerated approval of the supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for blockbuster therapy Wegovy (2.4 mg semaglutide) for treating adult patients with non-cirrhotic metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) with moderate to severe liver fibrosis (stage 2 or 3). Following this news, Novo Nordisk's U.S. stock rose over 6% in after-hours trading.
09:29 Government bond futures opened lower across the board, with the 30-year main contract falling 0.62%, 10-year main contract declining 0.19%, 5-year main contract dropping 0.14%, and 2-year main contract slipping 0.03%.
09:27 China Shenhua resumed trading with a daily limit up, as the company plans to purchase equity stakes in multiple energy companies from China Energy Investment Corporation and Western Energy.
09:26 The Shanghai Composite opened with a gap up of 0.43%, hitting a new phase high, while the ChiNext Index rose 0.61%. GPU, electronic cloth, and copper clad laminate concepts led gains. Rare earth and photovoltaic sectors performed actively, with most brokerage stocks rising. Great Wall Securities opened 8% higher.
09:21 The Hang Seng Index opened 0.09% higher at 25,293.34 points; Hang Seng Tech Index rose 0.4%. NIO surged over 5%, Bilibili gained over 2%, while XPeng Motors, JD.com, and Baidu rose over 1%.
09:01 Commodity futures opened with lithium carbonate main contract surging over 3%, polysilicon, palm oil, and industrial silicon rising over 2%, coking coal up 2%, coke and glass gaining over 1%. Crude oil fell over 1%.
