A-shares three major indices collectively decline, Shanghai Composite nearly holds 4,000 points: Oil, gas, and coal move against the trend strongly

The three major A-share stock indices opened lower collectively on March 19. The two markets experienced weak, narrow-range consolidation, with the decline slightly expanding toward the close, and the Shanghai Composite Index even briefly fell below the 4,000-point mark.

From the market perspective, non-ferrous metals, fertilizers and pesticides, petrochemicals, lithium mining, and rare earths led the declines, while oil and gas, coal, and CPO concepts defied the trend and gained strength.

By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.39% to 4,006.55 points; the STAR 50 Index dropped 2.44% to 1,339.03 points; the Shenzhen Component Index declined 2.02% to 13,901.57 points; and the ChiNext Index decreased 1.11% to 3,309.1 points.

Wind statistics show that a total of 504 stocks in the two markets and the Beijing Stock Exchange rose, while 4,953 stocks fell, and 30 stocks remained unchanged.

The total trading volume of the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets was 2.11 trillion yuan, an increase of 650 billion yuan from the previous trading day’s 2.046 trillion yuan. Among them, the Shanghai market’s turnover was 935.3 billion yuan, up 59 billion yuan from 876.3 billion yuan; the Shenzhen market’s turnover was 1.1757 trillion yuan.

According to Dazhihui VIP, a total of 40 stocks across the two markets and the Beijing Stock Exchange gained more than 9%, while 20 stocks declined more than 9%.

Oil and petrochemical stocks strengthened, with non-ferrous metals leading the declines across the markets.

In terms of sectors, coal stocks led the rally, with Shaanxi Black Cat (601015) hitting the daily limit, and Dayou Energy (600403), China Coal Energy (601898), China Shenhua (601088), Antai Group (600408), and Yankuang Energy (600188) rising over 4%.

Oil and petrochemical stocks rose against the trend, with Blue Flame Holdings (000968) hitting the daily limit, Tongyuan Petroleum (300164) up over 6%, and Guanghui Energy (600256), CNOOC (600938), PetroChina (601857), and Intercontinental Oil & Gas (600759) up over 3%.

Gas stocks also rose, boosting the utilities sector, with Jiwei New Energy (300317), Huaneng Power (600726), Huaneng Liaoning (600396), Guoxin New Energy (600617), Hongtong Gas (605169), and Guangdong Electric Power A (000539) hitting or exceeding the 10% increase limit.

Non-ferrous metals led the declines, with Longda Co., Ltd. (688231) dropping over 10%, and Hongqiao Holdings (002379), Guocheng Mining (000688), Yongxing Materials (002756), CHMC Zinc & Germanium (600497), Luoyang Molybdenum (603993), and Industrial Silver & Tin (000426) falling over 7%. CITIC Securities pointed out that after previous Middle East conflicts, the medium-term trend of gold prices still depends on the US dollar’s credit and liquidity factors. Looking ahead, the continuation of loose liquidity and weakening dollar credit are expected to further push up gold prices. Historically, valuation or stock price percentile advantages tend to strengthen the upside of the gold sector, and with PE valuations of leading companies falling back to 15-20x at historic lows, and considering the high correlation between stock prices and gold prices in recent years, there is optimism about new highs in gold prices driving stock prices higher.

Steel stocks fluctuated downward, with Anyang Steel (600569) dropping over 8%, and Zhongda Mining (001203), Lingang Steel (600231), Hualing Steel (000932), Hegang Resources (000923), Changbao Co., Ltd. (002478), and Zhongnan Co., Ltd. (000717) falling over 5%.

Basic chemicals performed poorly, with Zhenhua Shares (603067), Limin Shares (002734), Xinjinlu (000510), Sanfangxiang (600370), Dongfang Iron Tower (002545), Cangzhou Dahuang (600230), and Zanyu Technology (002637) dropping over 8%.

The current foundation of the A-share market remains solid.

Hualong Securities believes that the A-share market has bottomed out and rebounded, but trading volume continues to shrink, and the rebound is mostly technical. Currently, major global financial markets are gradually stabilizing and rebounding, with technology leading the rally, especially storage chips, which have become the main inflow target for US and Asia-Pacific markets. The recovery of tech stocks is closely related to the decline in crude oil prices, with Brent crude futures falling near the $100 mark. The tug-of-war between crude oil and the tech sector remains evident, and the positive sentiment from external markets provides favorable conditions for short-term stabilization and recovery. Investors should gradually pay attention to structural opportunities in the AI industry.

CICC believes that in the short term, with the index stabilizing and rebounding today, the market remains in a range-bound oscillation. However, given the ongoing uncertainties around global energy supply crises and the upcoming period of intensive earnings disclosures in China, market risk appetite is unlikely to significantly improve. The pattern of wide-range fluctuations and rapid sector rotation may continue. Investors can consider participating in structural opportunities at lower levels while controlling positions. In the medium term, under the continued “double easing” of fiscal and monetary policies, ongoing household savings inflows, improvements in corporate earnings driven by anti-inflation measures, and ongoing breakthroughs in global AI technology, the foundation of the current A-share rally remains firm. It is expected that the recent Middle East conflict will only temporarily affect market sentiment and rhythm, not change the overall market direction. Confidence in the long-term positive trend remains, and excessive worry is unwarranted.

CICC’s research report states that as of March 17, 2026, the year-to-date gains of A-shares and H-shares in regional banks are 4% and 1.5%, respectively, outperforming their respective sectors by 2.3 and 0.4 percentage points. The top five performing banks are all regional banks, with an average increase of 11.8%. It is forecasted that in Q4 2025, net profits of listed banks will grow by 3% year-over-year, with revenue growth slightly improving in Q3, narrowing of interest rate spreads, and overall industry performance stabilizing and improving. The market currently favors growth-oriented stocks.

Guosheng Securities’ report indicates that in 2026, the “Compute and Power” synergy was included in the government work report as part of new infrastructure, promoting overall optimization of computing power and electricity in industry planning and resource dispatching, supporting high-quality development of the digital and energy economies. Relevant investment opportunities are worth关注.

招商证券’s report notes that in January-February 2026, total retail sales of consumer goods increased year-over-year, mainly driven by the Spring Festival holiday boosting travel, dining, consumption activities, and subsidies. The sector’s improvement is focused on upstream resource products and information technology fields, with rising prices for oil, coal, and building materials, and month-on-month increases in DRAM and NAND indices. Investment opportunities are recommended in high-growth sectors such as coal, building materials, oil and petrochemicals, and semiconductors.