A-share closing review | The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.57% to a new high in this phase, led by coal, electronics, and special gases.

On August 6, the three major A-share indices showed mixed performance, opening lower and fluctuating after a brief rise. By the market close, the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.57% to 3900.35 points, hitting a high of 3902.05 points during the session, marking a new peak since July 22; the Shenzhen Component Index fell by 0.24% to 14110.12 points; the ChiNext Index dropped by 0.55% to 3515.56 points; and the STAR Market 50 rose by 0.45% to 1701.29 points. The combined trading volume of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges was approximately 25,475 billion yuan, decreasing by about 130.85 billion yuan compared to the previous trading day. Across the market, 2,789 stocks rose while 2,590 stocks fell, with 83 hitting the daily limit up and 1 hitting the limit down, resulting in a 50% ratio of increasing stocks. Sector-wise, industries and concepts such as special electronic gases, industrial gases, fluorochemical, coal mining, target materials, electronic chemicals, and precious metals saw the largest gains, while sectors including blood products, AI data, short dramas/interactive games, securities, batteries, and education experienced the greatest declines. Driving Factors The Shanghai index performed better than the Shenzhen Component and ChiNext indices, reaching a session high of 3902.05 points, surpassing the previous high of 3884.44 points from July 22, setting a new intraday peak. The coal sector remained strong throughout the day, with Beijing Haohua Energy Resource, Huaibei Mining Holdings, Pingdingshan Tianan Coal Mining Co., Ltd., Yankuang Energy Group, and Shanxi Luan Environmental Energy Development Co., Ltd. all hitting the limit up. The coal mining sector rose by 4.56%, making it the most notable heavyweight sector of the day. The electronic specialty gases and industrial gases sectors continued to maintain strength, as HBM, 3D NAND, and advanced processes increased the unit wafer usage of wet electronic chemicals and electronic specialty gases, leading to price increases of key materials such as tungsten hexafluoride. Peric Special Gases disclosed in their investor relations record that they would implement a self-pricing strategy based on supply and demand starting in the third quarter; revenue from this product grew nearly threefold year-on-year in the first half of the year. The fluorochemical sector was active as well, with the quarterly long-term contract prices for mainstream refrigerants like R32 and R134a rising sequentially, and spot prices for fluorspar continuing to climb. Overnight international gold prices rose, boosting the precious metals sector. Technology sectors such as semiconductors and communication equipment fell sharply at the open but rebounded before declining again in the afternoon. The STAR Market 50 index initially surged over 2% in the morning, but the increase narrowed to 0.45% by the close. Popular Sectors 1. Electronic Specialty Gases/Industrial Gases: This sector was strong throughout the day, with Sichuan Shudao Equipment & Technology and Grandit Co., Ltd., both hitting the limit up. Hubei Heyuan Gas Co., Ltd. achieved two consecutive limit-ups, while Guangzhou Guanggang Gases & Energy, Peric Special Gases, and Guangdong Huate Gas Co., Ltd. all briefly rose over 10%, closing up 6.94%, 7.57%, and 8.71% respectively. HBM, 3D NAND, and advanced process technologies increase the unit wafer usage of electronic specialty gases and precursors, leading to price increases for key materials like tungsten hexafluoride; additionally, Kanto Denka and Chuo Glass permanently stopped production from July 1, contributing to a total of approximately 2,200 tons of high-end tungsten hexafluoride capacity being withdrawn, which represents about 25% of the global supply of semiconductor-grade material. 2. Coal: The coal mining sector rose 4.56%, with Beijing Haohua Energy Resource, Huaibei Mining Holdings, Pingdingshan Tianan Coal Mining Co., Ltd., Yankuang Energy Group, and Shanxi Luan Environmental Energy Development Co., Ltd. all hitting the limit up, and Henan Dayou Energy increasing by 9.95%. The coal sector maintained a sustained upward trend throughout the day, making it the strongest heavyweight sector. 3. Fluorochemical/Little Metals: The target material sector rose by 7.71%, with Zhejiang Zhongxin Fluoride Materials, Do-Fluoride New Materials, and Befar Group hitting the limit up in the fluorochemical direction. In the little metals category, Yunnan Lincang Xinyuan Germanium Industry and Grinm Advanced Materials also hit the limit up. The quarterly long-term contract price for refrigerant R32 reached 65,100 yuan/ton, an approximately 2,900 yuan/ton increase compared to the second quarter; the spot price for fluorspar rose to 3,475 yuan/ton, accumulating a rise of about 3% over the past month. Adjusting Sectors Sectors such as blood products, AI data, and short dramas/interactive games experienced the largest declines, with Astro-century Education & Technology dropping 10.56%, Jiangsu Chuanzhiboke Education Technology falling 6.65%, COL Global Co., Ltd. decreasing by 4.69%, Shen Zhen Weiguang Biological Products declining by 4.11%, and Shanghai RAAS Blood Products down 3.16%. The securities sector weakened, with Tianfeng dropping 2.40% and Guangdong Golden Dragon Development Inc. falling 3.06%. The battery sector fell by 2.74%, while the education sector decreased by 2.56%. These sectors previously experienced significant gains, resulting in considerable declines on this day.