China's A-share market showed mixed performance yesterday, with the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses recording a combined turnover of RMB 1.66 trillion, down RMB 155.7 billion from the previous session. Sectors such as pharmaceutical commerce, banking, and retail led gains, while batteries and power grid equipment lagged. At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.16%, the Shenzhen Component Index fell 1.29%, and the ChiNext Index dropped 2.17%.

In today’s broker morning briefings: - **CITIC SEC** highlighted investment opportunities in the semiconductor equipment sector. The firm noted that since September 2025, leading semiconductor equipment stocks have rallied due to catalysts like Intel’s strategic investments and memory chipmakers’ price hikes. With the ongoing memory upcycle and strong downstream demand, global wafer fab equipment (WFE) sales are projected to grow at a high single-digit percentage annually in 2025–2026, with memory’s share further expanding. Additionally, normalized demand in mainland China is expected to mitigate regulatory uncertainties by 2026.

- **CICC** forecasted a "low-then-high" trend for coal prices in 2026, with the annual average likely mirroring 2025 levels. Demand-side weakness may persist, but supply constraints could provide support. Prices may face pressure in H1 due to delayed policy effects and seasonality, while H2 could see marginal demand recovery driving an uptick.

- **Huatai Securities** emphasized the optimization of public fund performance assessments following the December release of draft guidelines. The rules reinforce long-term performance metrics, increase mandatory co-investment ratios, and introduce quantifiable salary-adjustment mechanisms—aligning fund managers’ interests with investors’. Against a steady capital market outlook, the firm recommends focusing on high-quality financial stocks, particularly banks excelling in retail/wealth management and brokerages with strong wealth management franchises.