Monday's session delivered a stark reminder of market fragility, with all major A-share indices closing lower and sector performance diverging sharply. Nearly 4,000 stocks finished in negative territory, reflecting a pronounced risk-off mood across the board. Defensive pockets did shine through the gloom, however, as precious metals, coal, banking, and seed industries bucked the trend. The ongoing surge in international gold prices lifted the entire gold and silver complex, making it the market's most reliable haven. Meanwhile, low-valuation stalwarts like coal and banking attracted heavy fund inflows, showcasing their resilience. High-flying growth sectors cooled off, with only the solid-state battery theme managing a brief, tepid bounce that did little to stir broader sentiment. The day's trading was a textbook example of capital retreating from elevated, high-growth names and crowding into low-risk, stable-return defensive plays—a clear "safety first" session.

Is a second bottom being carved out? Today's solid bearish candle poured cold water on the market. The Shanghai Composite Index opened lower at 3,902 points, briefly dipped into positive territory with a modest high of 3,910 points, but then met resistance and steadily declined, plunging to an intraday low of 3,855 points. This level broke below last Wednesday's 3,879-point trough, setting a fresh near-term low. Fewer than 1,100 stocks across the two exchanges managed to close in the green, confirming a broad-based sell-off. Among the rare bright spots, precious metals, banks, coal, seeds, and transport led the gainers. The precious metals sector rode the wave of consecutive gains in international spot gold, which dragged domestic gold and silver equities higher, directly benefiting from the commodity price upswing. Heightened volatility in US tech stocks, overseas inflation concerns, and geopolitical uncertainties—combined with capital fleeing high-flying AI and semiconductor growth shares—pushed substantial funds into low-volatility, high-safety precious metals for hedging and value preservation. Additionally, precious metals had undergone significant prior corrections, leaving valuations at relatively depressed levels, offering better risk-reward compared to the crowded tech trade. This made them the primary destination for today's fund rotation, also dragging coal and banking dividend stocks modestly higher. Separately, the solid-state battery concept spiked in early trading following the successful approval of a China-led international standard for EV drive solid-state batteries, though it later gave back some gains. Despite the pullback, names like Tianli Lithium (VSC), Dexin Technology, Shanghai Xiba, Jinlongyu, and Shengyang Co., Ltd. hit their daily limit up. Several brokers are also warming to the lithium battery sector's valuation recovery potential. Founder Securities' research note argues the recent bottom-fishing rebound in the lithium sector is a correction of excessively pessimistic prior expectations, and it sees investment value in lithium salt names for Q3.

Zhao Jianping's latest holdings have now been unveiled. With the end of August approaching, the deadline for A-share interim reports is imminent. To date, 1,712 companies have published their official half-year results, representing 30.87% of the entire A-share market. The remaining roughly 70% will release their reports in a concentrated burst over the final five trading days. One of the most closely watched events during this earnings season is the portfolio moves of legendary retail investors. Today's filings have revealed the latest positioning of Zhao Jianping, a veteran known as the "evergreen bull". Unilumin Technology, a company with exposure to robotics, AI, and AI agent concepts, released its interim report on August 24. First-half revenue and net profit attributable to shareholders fell 2.92% and 73.4% year-on-year, respectively. According to the top-ten shareholder list, Zhao Jianping held 19.78 million shares as the fourth-largest shareholder, an increase of 780,000 shares from the end of Q1. However, a company buyback announcement had already updated its shareholder data as of July 31, showing Zhao's position had plummeted to 7.7 million shares, dropping his ranking to ninth place. Beyond Unilumin, Zhao Jianping has also publicly appeared among the top-ten shareholders of Shenjing Micro, Glarun Technology, Dongxin Semiconductor, and Xiangshan Co., Ltd. His moves there paint a mixed picture. Shenjing Micro is a fresh addition during Q2. For Glarun Technology, although Zhao reduced his stake in Q2—a selling streak that had persisted for four consecutive reporting periods—a July 21 buyback notice reveals he has resumed accumulating shares, adding 1.9 million shares compared to the end of Q2. His holding in Dongxin Semiconductor remained unchanged from Q1 to Q2. As for Xiangshan Co., Ltd., although its interim report hasn't been released yet, a buyback announcement dated August 14 shows Zhao Jianping has newly entered as the eighth-largest shareholder with 1.1 million shares. When discussing Zhao Jianping's moves, it's impossible to ignore Zhao Ji, who has known ties to him. Zhao Ji's name currently appears only on Glarun Technology's shareholder list. In contrast to his previous four consecutive quarters of selling, Zhao Ji has not reduced his stake since his public appearance in Q4 2024. After adding 1 million shares in mid-2026, the latest July 21 data shows another increase of 800,000 shares. As for Dongxin Semiconductor, Zhao Ji was a public heavyweight holder at the end of Q1, but disappeared from the list by Q2's end. Yet, judging by the share count of the tenth-largest shareholder at the end of Q2 (which exceeds Zhao Ji's Q1 position), the possibility that Zhao Ji was passively displaced cannot be ruled out.