China A-share benchmark indices turned lower; the Shenzhen Composite Index fell 0.23% and the ChiNext Index fell 0.6%.

At the morning close, China's main futures contracts were mixed with more gains than losses. Notable risers: eggs up over 3%, Shanghai tin nearly 3%, synthetic rubber over 2%, PTA about 2%; soybean meal, 20# rubber, paraxylene (PX) and ethylene glycol (EG) rose above 1%. Major decliners: lithium carbonate and container shipping rates on the Europe route down over 2%; low-sulfur fuel oil (LU) and LPG nearly 2% lower; red dates, palladium and platinum down more than 1%, apples nearly 1% lower.

Senior commodities analyst Henry Hu says gold-jewellery stocks historically tracked gold prices and were treated as adjuncts to miners, but the dynamic has shifted. Since 2025 investment gold bars have exceeded 50% of the China market and become dominant; self-purchase and wedding demand remain rigid but are budget-anchored, so consumers tend to wait when gold is elevated. A H1 decline in the gold price has not produced a clear rebound in jewellery sales. Fixed-price SKUs suffer from delayed repricing and companies’ responses differ; gram-weight products are more resilient. Chaohongji reported sequential acceleration in Q2 and continued sell-through. Crucially, share prices have materially disconnected from fundamentals: gold weakness affects firms unevenly, yet the sector has fallen collectively and many names trade at very low PBs (Chow Sang Sang ~0.4). Absent a further ~50% drop in gold, current valuations look cheap.