A-share Market Close | Shanghai Composite Index Rises 0.19%; Oil and Banking Stocks Strengthen, Computing Power Hardware Stocks Weaken

On October 26, the three major A-share indices collectively opened lower and moved down in the morning session, then fluctuated and recovered in the afternoon. The Shanghai Composite Index turned positive in late trading and closed near its intraday high, while the Shenzhen Component Index, ChiNext Index, and STAR 50 all closed lower. As of the close, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.19% to 3,697.52 points, the Shenzhen Component Index fell 1.19% to 11,534.38 points, the ChiNext Index fell 1.71% to 2,638.23 points, the STAR 50 fell 2.23% to 1,315.50 points, and the BSE 50 fell 2.13% to 963.95 points. Combined turnover of the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets was RMB1.608785 trillion, down RMB347.499 billion from the previous trading day. Among Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares, 2,252 stocks rose, 3,157 fell, and 168 were flat; 59 hit the daily limit-up, 28 hit the daily limit-down, and advancing stocks accounted for about 40%. By sector, oilfield services & engineering, real estate services, leisure foods, pharmaceutical commerce, large state-owned banks, and gaming led the gains; components, glass and fiberglass, electronic chemicals, precious metals, communications equipment, and semiconductors led the declines. Drivers The Shanghai Composite Index touched an intraday low of 3,664.82 points (down 0.70% from the previous close), and the ChiNext Index touched a low of 2,601.09 points (down 3.09%). In late trading, the Shanghai Composite recovered into positive territory, while petroleum & petrochemicals rose 2.41% and banks rose 1.76%, in contrast to components falling 6.79% and the copper-clad laminate concept falling 9.35%, constituting the day's index divergence. European natural gas prices rose to their highest level since 2022. Norwegian gas transportation system operator Gassco previously announced an unplanned outage at the Troll gas field from October 25 to 26, affecting 6.1 million cubic meters per day. On the day, PetroChina rose 4.94%, China Oilfield Services rose 7.23%, Offshore Oil Engineering rose 5.95%, and CNOOC Limited rose 4.27%. The People's Bank of China on October 26 conducted a RMB700 billion 1-year MLF operation via fixed-quantity, rate-based tender with multiple-price allotment. MLF maturities for the month totaled RMB900 billion, resulting in a net withdrawal of RMB200 billion, the third net withdrawal of the year. In Asia-Pacific markets, the Nikkei 225 closed down 0.80% at 62,189.65 points, and South Korea's KOSPI closed down 1.46% at 5,469.47 points. Goldman Sachs cut its 12-month KOSPI target to 9,000 points from 12,000 points. On the news front, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's revised compilation methodology for the SSE Composite Index series took effect on October 26, adding a cap rule limiting any single constituent's weight to no more than 15%. Hot sectors 1. [Oil & natural gas] Among SW level-2 industries, oilfield services & engineering rose 3.38% to rank first, and petroleum & petrochemicals rose 2.41%. PetroChina rose 4.94% to RMB13.38 with turnover of RMB2.946 billion; CNOOC Limited rose 4.27%, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation rose 3.54%, China Oilfield Services rose 7.23%, Offshore Oil Engineering rose 5.95%, and CNOOC Energy Technology & Services rose 4.08%. The catalyst came from European natural gas prices rising to their highest level since 2022, with Norway's Gassco announcing an unplanned outage at the Troll gas field from October 25 to 26, affecting 6.1 million cubic meters per day. 2. [Pharmaceutical commerce] Pharmaceutical commerce rose 2.73%; Zhejiang Int'l Group and Thalys Medical Technology Group Corporation hit the daily limit-up, and Qingdao Baheal Medical INC. rose 10.62%. Pharmaceuticals & biologics rose 0.79%, and the innovative drugs concept rose 0.23%. On the news front, the 2026 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Congress was held in Madrid from October 23 to 27, with 29 studies related to Chinese pharmaceutical companies selected for late-breaking abstracts, accounting for about one-third of the congress's total LBAs. 3. [Siasun Robot&Automation and physical AI] The humanoid Siasun Robot&Automation concept closed down 0.81%, with multiple stocks in the concept hitting the daily limit-up: Jiangsu Huayang Intelligent Equipment hit the 20CM limit-up for a third consecutive board (sealing at the limit-up price at the open and re-sealing after opening intraday); Swancor Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. and Pan Asian Microvent Tech both hit the 20CM limit-up; Zhejiang Fulai New Material, Jiangnan Mould & Plastic Technology, Zhejiang Fenglong Electric, and Wanxiang Qianchao hit the daily limit-up; Jiangsu Safety Wire Rope, ADD Industry, DuoLun Technology Corporation, and Xiangyang Automobile Bearing each recorded a third consecutive board. The physical AI concept rose 1.80%, and Unitree Technology rose 7.69% to RMB672. The catalyst came from the 2026 Global Developer Pioneer Conference and International Embodied Intelligence Skills Competition held in Shanghai from October 23 to 25, where AgiBot organized 110 full-size Expedition A3 humanoid Siasun Robot&Automation units in a synchronized group dance, setting a Guinness World Record for the most humanoid Siasun Robot&Automation dancing simultaneously. Declining sectors Components fell 6.79%, glass and fiberglass fell 5.40%, electronic chemicals fell 4.33%, and precious metals fell 4.27%, the four SW level-2 industries with the largest declines on the day. Communications equipment fell 3.67% and semiconductors fell 3.55%; the copper-clad laminate concept fell 9.35% and the MLCC concept fell 4.33%. Among individual stocks, Zhejiang Wazam New Materials, Changzhou Aohong Electronics, and Aoshikang Technology hit the daily limit-down; Shengyi Technology fell 9.52%, Hengtong Optic-Electric fell 8.14%, and Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock fell 7.73%; Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining touched the limit-down intraday and closed down 8.90%. The decline in precious metals corresponded to spot gold falling below US$4,000/oz last Friday and briefly falling below US$3,980/oz during Asian trading on October 26. The components sector retreated from 21,271.36 points on October 8 to 16,697.79 points, a decline of 21.50% over the period.