A-share Market Close Review | ChiNext Index Falls 4.37%, Losing 2,600 Points; Bank Stocks Hit New Highs

On October 22, the Shanghai Composite Index opened slightly higher and then moved lower unilaterally, while the Shenzhen Component Index and ChiNext Index opened lower and moved lower. The three major indices weakened throughout the day, with trading volume in several broad-based ETFs surging in late trading. As of the close, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.48% to 3,658.03 points, the Shenzhen Component Index fell 2.96% to 11,357.32 points, the ChiNext Index fell 4.37% to 2,576.90 points, the STAR 50 fell 2.78% to 1,305.87 points, and the BSE 50 fell 0.93% to 966.74 points; the Shanghai Composite Index hit a new closing low for the year, while the ChiNext Index hit its lowest close since August 18, 2025 and was down more than 40% from its June 25 high. Turnover in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets was 1,528.708 billion yuan, an increase of 99.360 billion yuan from the previous trading day. Among A-shares in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets, 535 stocks rose, 4,999 fell, and 43 were flat; 33 hit the daily limit up and 62 hit the daily limit down, with rising stocks accounting for about 9%. By sector, electric motors, white goods, large state-owned banks, lighting equipment, and ground armaments closed higher; communications equipment, components, film and cinema lines, publishing, digital media, and advertising and marketing led the declines. Drivers Major Asia-Pacific stock indices all closed lower on the day. The Nikkei 225 fell 2.65% to 62,907.84 points, the KOSPI fell 3.52% to 5,533.76 points, SK Hynix fell 5.49% and Samsung Electronics fell 4.03%, while A-share technology heavyweights weakened in tandem. On the news front, according to a CCTV News report on October 22, the head office's reporter learned on October 21 local time that the U.S. and Israeli militaries had formulated specific plans to launch another military strike on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections. Overnight, the three major U.S. stock indices closed higher, with the Dow up 0.69%, the Nasdaq up 1.05%, the S&P 500 up 0.58%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 1.97%, but after the bell Tesla cut its full-year capital expenditure guidance to about $20 billion from more than $25 billion, and Nasdaq futures fell 0.6% in early Asia-Pacific trading. During the third-quarter earnings disclosure window, heavyweight stocks continued to adjust. Contemporary Amperex Technology fell 3.29% after a 12.03% drop in the previous trading day, and the battery sector fell 2.78%. Structurally, among Shenwan second-level industries, only five sectors closed higher: electric motors, white goods, large state-owned banks, lighting equipment, and ground armaments, while communications equipment, components and other computing-power hardware directions led the declines. Hot sectors 1. [Humanoid Siasun Robot&Automation] The electric motors sector rose 3.58%, ranking first among Shenwan second-level industries. Shandong Daye hit the daily limit up for a fifth consecutive session (including one-word limit-up sessions on October 20 and 21), while Shenzhen Zhaowei Machinery & Electronics, Shanghai Moons'Electric, Zhongshan Broad-ocean Motor, and Xiangyang Automobile Bearing hit the daily limit up, and Jiangsu Huayang Intelligent Equipment and Jiangnan Yifan Motor both rose by the 20CM daily limit. The catalyst came from Tesla's third-quarter financial report: Tesla announced it had begun producing the first batch of Optimus Siasun Robot&Automation units meeting mass-production quality standards at its Fremont, California factory. However, Musk said on the earnings call that Optimus still needs to resolve issues such as AI capabilities, mechanical reliability, and service life, and is expected to be delivered to external customers only around the end of 2027; Unitree Robotics released a new humanoid Siasun Robot&Automation product on October 21. 2. [Banks] Large state-owned banks rose 0.71%. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 1.66% to 8.59 yuan and China Construction Bank Corporation rose 1.48% to 11.66 yuan, both hitting record highs. On October 21, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank Of China distributed 2026 interim cash dividends to A-share shareholders, totaling about 82.144 billion yuan; so far, 21 A-share listed banks have disclosed interim dividend plans, with total proposed cash payouts exceeding 260 billion yuan, and the interim dividend payout ratio of the six major banks raised to 31% from 30%. 3. [Memory chips] The semiconductor sector fell 2.93%, with individual stocks in the memory direction showing unusual moves in the afternoon. ICkey(Shanghai)Internet and Technology rose 16.16%, Fujian Raynen Technology hit the daily limit up, and Tianshui Huatian Technology rose 9.12%, touching the daily limit-up price during the session. According to estimates released by TrendForce on October 21, DRAM contract prices are expected to rise about 20% quarter on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2026. Adjusting sectors Communications equipment fell 7.09% and components fell 6.21%, the two largest declines among Shenwan second-level industries on the day. Both sectors have been adjusting continuously since late September and continued to lead the declines on the day; Eoptolink Technology Inc. fell 12.28%, Zhongji Innolight fell 8.76%, and Suzhou TFC Optical Communication fell 8.36%, while Suntak Technology and Shenzhen Everbest Machinery Industry hit the daily limit down. Media-related sectors weakened in tandem: film and cinema lines fell 5.91%, publishing fell 5.16%, digital media fell 5.06%, and advertising and marketing fell 4.98%. Shanghai Xinhua Media, Guangdong Guangzhou Daily Media, Inly Media Co., Ltd, Heilongjiang Publishing&Media Holdings, and Decai Decoration hit the daily limit down, while Guomai Culture & Media fell 13.75%. In pharmaceuticals, medical services fell 4.03%, Novoprotein Scientific Inc. hit the 20CM daily limit down, Asymchem Laboratories fell 8.26%, and Joinn Laboratories fell 6.29%.