On June 18, CHINA'S SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX closed down 17.59 points (-0.43%) at 4,090.48; Shenzhen Composite Index closed up 149.75 points (+0.94%) at 16,030.70; CSI 300 INDEX closed up 10.21 points (+0.21%) at 4,941.60; ChiNext Index closed up 85.34 points (+2.05%) at 4,252.39; China's STAR 50 Index closed up 70.69 points (+3.84%) at 1,911.51.

Preliminary PBOC data: China's financial institutions' total assets were 556.34 tln yuan at end-Q1 2026, up 8.8% YoY. Bank assets 494.72 tln yuan (+8.0% YoY); securities firms 19.15 tln yuan (+25.4%); insurers 42.47 tln yuan (+12.2%). Financial institutions' liabilities 509.53 tln yuan (+9.0% YoY): bank liabilities 455.69 tln yuan (+8.1%); securities liabilities 15.14 tln yuan (+30.9%); insurance liabilities 38.69 tln yuan (+12.7%).

East Money Research Institute deputy director and chief strategist Chen Guo said A-shares saw large-scale discounted sales of high-quality stocks driven by liquidity-driven forced selling by holders of dividend assets, creating price dislocations. He reiterated a strong preference for non-bank financials, especially brokerages, noting the sector's ROE is at its highest since 2022 with room to rise and its current PB sits in the bottom decile of the historical distribution. He said he does not expect a broad A-share bear market; if one materialises, brokerage valuations would likely have adjusted first. Conversely, he warned that any extreme market compression of broker valuations should ultimately snap back.