At the opening bell on September 21, China's major stock indices all pushed higher, with the Shanghai Composite Index climbing 0.21% to 3,920.27 points, the Shenzhen Component Index gaining 0.55% to 13,716.22 points, and the ChiNext Index advancing 0.93% to 3,403.90 points. The STAR 50 Index opened with a 1.00% rise to 1,669.20 points.
By 9:34 AM, trading data showed 3,928 stocks rising across the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, while 1,346 declined and 291 remained flat. Notable gainers included MLCC component makers, CRO concepts, semiconductor firms, electronic components, communication equipment, and medical services. Conversely, precious metals, oil and petrochemicals, banking, and power utilities were among the laggards.
Momentum continued to build shortly after the open, with all four major indices extending their early gains. By 9:34 AM, the Shanghai Composite stood at 3,928.97 points, up 0.44%, while the Shenzhen Component Index reached 13,769.78 points, adding 0.95%. The ChiNext Index climbed 1.60% to 3,426.80 points, and the STAR 50 Index advanced 1.52% to 1,677.73 points.
Sector-wise, communication equipment and semiconductors attracted the most significant capital inflows, with electronic components, medical services, and chemical pharmaceuticals following suit. Meanwhile, precious metals—previously favored as defensive plays—experienced downward adjustments, and heavyweight sectors such as banking and power utilities slipped modestly. At 9:34 AM, 22 stocks hit their daily upside limits while none touched downside limits, with advancing stocks accounting for roughly 70% of total market participants.
Overnight developments on global markets showed mixed results across Wall Street's three major averages on September 18. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.18%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.17% and the Nasdaq rose 0.39%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed up an impressive 2.78%. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.81% to $95.47 per barrel. CME interest rate futures indicate the market currently prices in approximately a 55% probability of another Federal Reserve rate hike in October.
On the domestic macro front, China's Ministry of Commerce announced on September 19 that He Lifeng would lead a delegation to the United States from September 19 to 23 for economic and trade consultations. The State Council's executive meeting on September 18 outlined plans to implement an expansion initiative for medical rehabilitation and nursing services. The People's Bank of China reported on September 20 that the one-year and five-year-plus Loan Prime Rates remain unchanged at 3.0% and 3.5% respectively, marking the sixteenth consecutive month without adjustment.
Key industry developments included a new plan unveiled on September 18 by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology along with nine other departments. The "15th Five-Year Plan for the Pharmaceutical Industry Development" sets a target of exceeding 3.5 trillion yuan in operating revenue for pharmaceutical industrial enterprises above a designated scale by 2030. Additionally, on September 20, ChangXin Memory Technologies announced the official mass production of its fifth-generation technology platform, with 24Gb LPDDR5X products now in volume production.
Market positioning suggests that today's broad-based opening strength is driven by multiple catalysts: the strong performance of US memory chip stocks in the previous session, ChangXin's fifth-generation platform reaching mass production, and the official rollout of the pharmaceutical industry's 15th Five-Year Plan. The ChiNext and STAR 50 indices are showing the most pronounced elasticity, with electronic components, communication equipment, and medical services taking the lead while MLCC and CRO concepts remain active. Precious metals and other previously defensive positions are under pressure.
Institutional consensus leans toward the view that with the Fed's September rate hike now settled and short-term policy uncertainties temporarily cleared, a rebound window may have opened. However, analysts caution this scenario more likely presents a rebound rather than a sustained trend reversal. With the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays approaching, trading activity may taper off, and indices are expected to maintain a range-bound pattern with rotational moves. Structural opportunities should therefore take precedence over any expectations of a broad-based rally in the near term.