China A-shares opened lower and weakened; STAR 50 bucked the trend, rising over 3% intraday. By mid-session the Shanghai Composite was down 0.58%, the Shenzhen Composite down 1.94% and the ChiNext (growth) index down 2.29%. Chemicals rallied with multiple names hitting daily limit-ups; helium-related stocks, including Heyuan Gas and Hangyang, also hit limit-ups. Banks rallied intraday—Qingdao Bank rose over 4% and China Construction Bank hit a record intraday high. Travel and hotels, photolithog

China A-shares opened lower and weakened; STAR 50 bucked the trend, rising over 3% intraday. By mid-session the Shanghai Composite was down 0.58%, the Shenzhen Composite down 1.94% and the ChiNext (growth) index down 2.29%. Chemicals rallied with multiple names hitting daily limit-ups; helium-related stocks, including Heyuan Gas and Hangyang, also hit limit-ups. Banks rallied intraday—Qingdao Bank rose over 4% and China Construction Bank hit a record intraday high. Travel and hotels, photolithography/photoresist, liquor, insurance and aquaculture were active. Lagging sectors included coal, commercial space, components, reducers, PV equipment and smart grid. Combined Shanghai-Shenzhen turnover at mid-session was about CNY1.73 trillion, roughly CNY116.4 billion higher than the same period yesterday; about 1,100 stocks advanced and 4,300 declined.