A-share Evening Hotspots | U.S. August PCE below expectations, market trims rate hike bets.

Evening Headline News Roundup 1. U.S. August PCE below expectations, market trims rate hike bets Importance: The U.S. core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.2% month-over-month in August, versus an estimate of 0.3% and a prior reading of 0.2%. Core PCE rose 3.0% year-over-year in August, versus an estimate of 3.3% and a prior reading of 3.3%. The final estimate for U.S. second-quarter real GDP growth was 2.2% annualized, versus expectations of 1.5% and a prior reading of 1.50%. After the U.S. August PCE report was released, traders reduced bets on a Federal Reserve rate hike in October. In the markets, U.S. stocks moved higher, while gold and silver rallied collectively. 2. Central bank takes action! 1.2 trillion yuan outright reverse repo coming Importance: The central bank said in a September 30 announcement that on October 8 it will conduct 1.2 trillion yuan of outright reverse repo operations through fixed-quantity, rate-based bidding with multiple price awards, with a term of 3 months (89 days). Wang Qing, chief macro analyst at Orient Gold, noted that macro policy is further tilting toward stabilizing growth, including accelerating government bond issuance and speeding up the implementation of the 800 billion yuan new policy-based financial instruments, which requires central bank support on the liquidity front. This means that in the short term, medium-term liquidity tools including the medium-term lending facility (MLF) and outright reverse repos are expected to continue to be rolled over in increased amounts, supporting government bond issuance and banks' matching credit extension. 3. Big orders keep coming! Multiple A-share companies receive positive news Importance: Big orders keep coming! On the evening of September 30, China Merchants Energy Shipping announced on the Shanghai Stock Exchange that its wholly owned subsidiary Hong Kong Ming Wah recently signed 25-year long-term transport agreements with customers for 6 VLOC bulk carriers, with a total amount expected to be no less than US$2.8 billion. On the same evening, Shenzhen Zesum Technology announced on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that the company recently signed a 2027 demand forecast cooperation memorandum with a PH customer. In addition, Doushen (Beijing) Education & Technology Inc. announced on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that recently its wholly owned grandchild company Doushen Hong Kong signed a cloud computing services agreement to provide cloud computing services to a customer, with a total contract amount of approximately US$119 million. 4. General Office of the State Council: Vigorously develop professional leagues in football, basketball, volleyball, and more Importance: The "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Developing Sports Events to Stimulate Consumption Vitality" stated that by 2030, a modern event system with Chinese characteristics should basically take shape, a number of sports events with global influence should be cultivated, industrial coordination capacity should be significantly improved, the vitality of event consumption should be effectively stimulated, and strong support should be provided for high-quality economic and social development. Vigorously develop professional leagues in football, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, badminton, ice hockey, baseball, Go, and more, and support the holding of high-level professional events such as tennis, sailing, boxing, billiards, auto racing, motorcycle racing, and cycling. 5. Ministry of Commerce: Extends deadline for trade barrier investigation into relevant U.S. practices and measures Importance: The Ministry of Commerce recently issued two announcements, respectively announcing decisions to extend the deadline for the trade barrier investigation into U.S. practices and measures that disrupt global production and supply chains and U.S. practices and measures that hinder green product trade. According to the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Commerce's Rules on Foreign Trade Barrier Investigation, on March 27, 2026, the Ministry of Commerce issued Announcements No. 17 and No. 18 of 2026, deciding to launch a trade barrier investigation into U.S. practices and measures that disrupt global production and supply chains, and to launch a trade barrier investigation into U.S. practices and measures that hinder green product trade. 6. Apple prepares to formally enter the smart home market after years of planning Importance: Apple Inc. plans to officially launch its long-prepared smart home product on October 13, a key product expansion move after new CEO John Ternus took office. According to people familiar with the matter, the core of this strategy is a smart home hub codenamed J490. Apple also plans to release the first update to the HomePod mini since it debuted in 2020, as well as a new TV streaming box after 2022. 7. Review of heavyweight stocks that have fallen sharply in recent years, these sectors account for a relatively high share Importance: In recent years, many heavyweight stocks have continued to decline. Based on the past five-year interval and calculated by market value in September 2021, among heavyweight stocks with market value exceeding 100 billion yuan at that time, a total of 45 stocks still have share prices in a "halved" state. According to Shenwan secondary industry classification statistics, these 45 stocks are mainly concentrated in the photovoltaic equipment and baijiu sectors, accounting for 15.56% and 11.11%, respectively; the number of stocks in semiconductors, batteries, energy metals, biological products, medical services, and other industries is also relatively high. Opportunities in Advance The editor sorted through investment opportunities of market interest and found that gaming and others are drawing attention. 1. 206 domestic games approved in September batch On September 30, according to the official website of the National Press and Publication Administration, in September 2026, a total of 206 domestic online games and 3 imported online games received approval numbers, including miHoYo's "Origin Bond," Kingnet Network's "Dragon Nest: Awakening," 4399's "Fireline Elite: Breakthrough" and "Dream Painting Block," Youka Network's "Three Kingdoms Kill: Destiny Chess Game," Hangzhou Electronic Soul Network Technology's "I Am MT: Battle for Glory" and "I Cultivate Immortality in the Spirit World," among others. In addition, 15 games involved changes to approval numbers. A CITIC SEC research report stated that since 2025, generative AI has continued to lower the threshold for game development, pushing content production from "labor-intensive" toward "intelligence-enhanced," and the industry supply side has thus seen significant expansion. However, the market has not therefore linearly entered a value-realization stage of "a hundred flowers blooming"; on the contrary, player attention, product differentiation, and long-term operations capabilities have become even scarcer. CITIC SEC believes that AI will not simply dilute the value of the gaming industry, but will instead push the industry's value anchor from "whether content can be produced" to "whether premium content can be continuously created, traffic can be acquired, and commercialization can be realized." The gaming industry is moving from an era of "capacity constraints" to an era of "scarcity revaluation," with leading companies benefiting the most. In addition, the following sectors are also worth watching: 2. Tourism | Multiple scenic areas issue emergency notices: National Day tickets sold out. 3. Chemicals | Semiconductor demand ignites the market, isopropanol rises more than 40% in just over two months. 4. Real estate | Shenzhen home prices rise for 6 consecutive months. Positive and Negative Announcements from Listed Companies Among relatively positive announcements, the editor highlights Shenzhen Aoni Electronic signing a computing power order worth more than 1.8 billion yuan; among relatively negative announcements, note Beijing Zhidemai Technology being subject to shareholder reduction. Relatively positive announcements 1. Shenzhen Aoni Electronic: Wholly owned subsidiary signs a 1.821 billion yuan GPU computing power card procurement contract 2. Guangdong Hec Technology Holding: Controlling shareholder and concert parties plan to increase holdings by 600 million to 1.2 billion yuan 3. ACM Research: As of September 29, orders on hand reached 17.073 billion yuan, up 88.2% year-over-year 4. Shenzhen Zesum Technology: Signs a US$500 million optical fiber connector demand forecast cooperation memorandum 5. Zhejiang Songyuan Automotive Safety Systems: Plans to repurchase shares for 50 million to 100 million yuan Relatively negative announcements 1. Beijing Zhidemai Technology: Liu Feng plans to reduce no more than 1.9% of the company's shares 2. North Long Dragon New Materials Tech: Controlling shareholder and concert parties reduce 1.32% of shares 3. ShenZhen New Industries Biomedical Engineering: Tianjin Hongshan Juye plans to reduce no more than 1% of the company's shares 4. Sichuan Tianwei Electronic Co.,Ltd.: Business of a customer in a certain special field is restricted, expected to have a negative impact on company operations 5. Bestore Co.,Ltd.: Controlling shareholder Ningbo Hanyi ordered in first instance to pay 5 million yuan in liquidated damages This article is reprinted from "Tencent Zixuangu." GMTEight editor: Xu Wenqiang.