A-shares closing review: The Shanghai Composite Index and Shenzhen Component Index rose by over 1%, with power, military, and optical fiber concept stocks gaining. Over 5,100 stocks in the entire market increased, and more than 100 stocks hit the daily limit up.

On March 24, the three major stock indexes of A-shares opened high and then fell back, oscillating after hitting a low. By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.78% to 3881.28 points, the Shenzhen Component Index increased by 1.43% to 13536.56 points, the ChiNext Index rose 0.5% to 3251.55 points, and the Sci-Tech Innovation 50 Index rose 2.33% to 1290.79 points; the micro-cap stock index surged over 5%; the total transaction amount in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets reached 2.08 trillion yuan, with over 5100 stocks rising, including 100 stocks hitting the daily limit.

Market hotspots rotated rapidly, with the power sector exploding, over a dozen constituent stocks hitting the daily limit, including China Huadian Liaoning Energy with seven consecutive limits, Shaanxi Energy with four limits in five days, and Liaoning Energy with two consecutive limits. China Huadian Power, Jinkai New Energy, and Disen Co. also hit the daily limit. The military industry sector strengthened, with Great Wall Military Industry, Hunan Tianyan, and Construction Industry hitting the daily limit. The optical fiber concept continued to rise in the afternoon, with Yangtze Optical Fiber and Tongding Interconnection hitting the daily limit. The space photovoltaic concept was actively traded, with Zhongli Group achieving three consecutive limits and Toray New Energy achieving two consecutive limits. The shipping sector saw a volatile rise, with China Merchants Energy hitting the daily limit. On the downside, oil and gas stocks performed poorly, with Keliyuan Co., Tongyuan Petroleum, and Intercontinental Oil & Gas all falling over 5%.

Hot Sectors

Green Energy Concept Continues to be Strong

The green energy, power, and other new energy industry chains continued to be strong, with China Huadian Liaoning Energy, Huaguang Huaneng, and Toray New Energy hitting the daily limit; the grid equipment concept remained active, with Beijing Kerui and Zhongli Group closing at the limit.

On the news front, on March 23, the State Power Investment Corporation held its first press conference for 2026. The State Power Investment plans to invest 200 billion yuan this year, a year-on-year increase of 17%. Among this, 23 billion yuan is to be invested in the first quarter, achieving a year-on-year growth of 35%.

Military Industry Sector Strengthens

The military industry sector strengthened, with Great Wall Military Industry, Hunan Tianyan, and Construction Industry hitting the daily limit.

On the news front, the 14th Five-Year Plan has made key deployments for the high-quality advancement of China’s national defense and military modernization, accelerating the modernization of advanced weaponry and marking a new development period for military equipment.

CRO and Weight Loss Drug Concepts Rise

CRO and weight loss drug concepts rose, with Fuxiang Pharmaceutical and Minohua hitting the daily limit, while Sinovac Biotech, Taian Kang, and Sunlight Novoheart followed suit.

On the news front, the core compound patent for Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide has expired in China. This means that this product, known as the “king of drugs” globally, will no longer hold a long-term monopoly.

Shipping Sector Volatile Rise

The shipping sector experienced a volatile rise, with China Merchants Energy hitting the daily limit, along with COSCO Shipping Energy, China Merchants Shipping, and Air China Ocean following suit.

CITIC Securities believes that the structural opportunities in oil transport valuations and assets are expected to continue. The supply chain restructuring caused by geopolitical conflicts has become the core driving factor of the current oil transport cycle. Events like the Iran situation have strengthened the cyclical momentum of the oil transport industry, and profits from leading oil transport companies are expected to reach new highs in 2026.

Institutional Market Outlook

Guotai Junan: The Impact of Geopolitics on A-shares is Short-term but Not Far-reaching

Guotai Junan Securities stated that recent geopolitical instability has caused concerns among many investors, but they believe the impact of geopolitics on A-shares is short-term and not far-reaching. The logic of the Chinese market/asset class has advantages and differentiation. Considering the global decline, A-shares have consistently been among the markets with smaller declines. The long-term direction of A-shares is always determined by its intrinsic core logic. We often say that “confidence is more precious than gold.” At a time when even gold has temporarily lost its safe-haven function and is continuously weakening, perhaps more and more stocks are quietly adjusting to near critical points—when exactly the turning point will occur, let us witness it together.

Western Securities: Large Volatility Actually Provides Good Entry Opportunities for the Next Main Line

Western Securities indicated that the Kondratiev wave downturn accelerated sharply after the U.S.-Iran war, reflected in the recent rapid increase in market volatility. However, large fluctuations provide good entry opportunities for the next main line; the greater the volatility, the more one should calmly contemplate the trend. They suggest increasing allocation to the PPI chain in oil and chemicals in the first half of the year, while also paying attention to Chinese manufacturing sectors capable of overtaking (photovoltaics, wind power, energy storage, engineering machinery, etc.); in the second half, they recommend shifting focus to the CPI chain, such as liquor, and benefiting from the rebound of the U.S. dollar index, including Hang Seng Technology and gold.

Ping An Securities: Equity Market Volatility May Continue Until the Situation Clarifies

Ping An Securities pointed out that in the short term, the U.S.-Iran conflict remains the main pricing anchor for global assets. Until the situation clarifies, volatility in the equity market may persist, with a defensive style (dividends/low valuation). In the medium to long term, the safety attributes of Chinese assets are still expected to benefit, focusing on policy-supported sectors with certain growth prospects: one is cyclical sectors benefiting from commodity price increases and strategic security needs (energy, chemicals, etc.), and the other is advanced manufacturing (power equipment, machinery, etc.) at a low point in the capacity cycle, expected to benefit from global restocking.