Market Close: A-shares wrap up March! The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.80%, while transportation equipment concept stocks surged against the trend.

Source: Xinhua Finance

BEIJING, March 31 (Wang Yuanyuan) — With March coming to a close, China’s A-share market saw all three major indexes pull back today. By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.80% to 3,891.86 points; the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 1.81% to 13,478.06 points; and the ChiNext Price Index declined 2.70% to 3,184.95 points. Total trading value across Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing stood at 2,006.1 billion yuan, up 78.3 billion yuan from the prior trading day.

For the month, the Shanghai Composite Index cumulatively fell 6.51%, showing a trend of “rising first and then retreating, followed by gradual stabilization.” Early in the month, it once broke through the interim high of Jan. 14. It then traded in a choppy decline, and ultimately lost the 3,900-point threshold again. The STAR 50, CSI 500, CSI 2000, and Beijing Stock Exchange 50 indices all fell by more than 10% for the month.

Market highlights

On the trading front, automobile services and aerospace equipment led the gains. Coal, wind power equipment, batteries, energy metals, electronic chemicals, agricultural chemical products, photovoltaic equipment, chemical raw materials, and semiconductor sectors led the declines.

Individual stocks

Across the whole market, the number of advancing stocks exceeded 1,000, and nearly 60 stocks hit their daily trading limit.

Institutional views

Giant Wealth Securities (Gufeng): On Tuesday, the market wavered and diverged, with the rail transit equipment sector leading the gains. Judging from the current trend, a clear divergence has already emerged in the market, and trading volume has contracted slightly; the market has entered a stage of competition among existing positions. At present, external “black swan” events have not yet fully settled, and the A-share market’s direction may keep seeing reversals. Investors can focus on opportunities to buy on dips after pullbacks in leading firms from previously hot industries. From a long-term perspective, under policy stimulus, the A-share market and the economy are expected to move upward in sync and reach a turning point. Specifically, for medium-to-long-term investment opportunities, it is recommended to pay attention to sectors maintaining high levels of optimism, such as semiconductors, consumer electronics, artificial intelligence, robotics, commercial aerospace, and other areas.

Haitong Securities (Huatai Securities): The recent drop in gold prices is mainly driven by liquidity squeeze due to forced selling. When facing risks, investors tend to hold cash, and assets such as gold are likely to be sold off as well. On the one hand, tensions in the Middle East have intensified, and Gulf countries are facing cash-flow pressure, meaning gold may face “selling away from illusion to real value” pressure in the short term. On the other hand, market concerns about stagflation combined with weaker expectations for rate cuts have increased volatility in risk assets, triggering liquidity squeezes. In the current macro scenario, one may refer to the 1973–1975 oil crisis; at that time, gold prices went through two declines followed by two rallies. During the period, the liquidity squeeze formed by avoiding risk and the economic downturn was the main driver behind the fall in gold prices; stagflation and loose liquidity then catalyzed the two rounds of upward moves. The logic for reallocating gold as a medium- to long-term asset remains solid; capturing the right investment timing during risk events is crucial.

CITIC Securities: The ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues to hit global energy supply chains, highlighting the necessity of energy independence and controllability. China’s energy consumption structure is diverse, and overall risk from external reliance is controllable. The transition to clean energy has achieved significant results, but development and improvement are still needed in infrastructure and high-end manufacturing. Under the demand to ensure energy security and promote the energy transition, we expect electricity price policy to be rolled out gradually to push electricity prices toward an earlier bottoming out and subsequent rebound, boosting investment enthusiasm in the power sector. The power sector is expected to see opportunities for a dual repair in fundamentals and valuation.

Market news

UBS: China’s market adjustment may have been overdone — high-quality AI stocks are entering a layout window

According to the Shanghai Securities News, UBS Wealth Management’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO) office shared an institutional view, saying that the current adjustment in China’s market may already be overdone, and investors have an opportunity to add to high-quality China AI stocks at relatively low valuations. The internet industry in China is currently trading at about 13x on a 12-month forward P/E basis, which is close to the level before DeepSeek was released; the current valuation has not yet fully reflected the returns brought by AI investment and monetization over the past year. UBS Wealth Management expects that MSCI China’s EPS growth this year will be about 13%, and that profitability growth for the technology sector may reach 20% to 25%. In addition, policies continue to actively support AI development and technological innovation. As market sentiment and fundamentals improve, earnings, valuations, and positioning are expected to gradually rebound.

Nine departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Stimulate demand for IoT applications in the consumer sector — cultivate a batch of IoT applications and value-added services

Nine departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have recently jointly issued the《Action Plan for Promoting Innovative Development of the Internet of Things Industry (2026–2028)》. It mentions stimulating demand for IoT applications in the consumer sector. By leveraging terminal products such as smart phones, wearables, smart home products, smart home appliances, intelligent connected vehicles, and robots, innovate application scenarios including human-car-home interconnection, smart shopping malls, remote healthcare, integration of medical care and elderly care, digital education, and smart culture and tourism. Explore application-ecosystem-led business models; based on users’ personalized needs, cultivate a batch of IoT applications and value-added services, and enrich immersive, safe, and convenient everyday life experiences.

Editor: Luo Hao