China A-share AI application sector opened stronger; Kingsoft Office rose nearly 7%, Yidian Tianxia gained over 6%, and BlueFocus and Zhongwen Online also advanced.

Minmetals Futures said weekend reports of supply-side restarts are pressuring lithium carbonate and prices are likely to open lower. Supply: H2 incremental lithium carbonate output will be driven mainly by spodumene, with overall release pacing slightly faster than H1. Demand: downstream orders remain full; July–August is a seasonal EV consumption trough but downstream production continues to rise MoM, and peak demand is expected in Sept–Oct. Overall, Minmetals judges the annual supply–demand balance will remain tight — even if a large Jiangxi lithium mine resumes production. A near-term price decline may prompt downstream buyers to bring forward restocking, which would limit downside.

A-share broker sector has exited a prior lull, with rising activity and inflows. Market participants say the key shift is a breakdown of the old seesaw—broker rallies paired with tech pullbacks—after securities firms and hard-tech began rallying together. Investors are treating brokers as cheap proxies for hard‑tech exposure because many firms now hold stakes in hard‑tech via underwriting follow‑ons and direct equity investments, and the broker sector is trading at historically low valuations. That dynamic is driving a fresh value re‑rating in broker stocks.