Mysterious capital inflows sparked a dramatic turnaround in A-shares on December 17, with major indices surging in afternoon trading. Financial heavyweights including brokerages and insurers led the charge, while broad-based ETFs saw explosive trading volumes. The ChiNext Index soared over 3%, and the Shenzhen Component Index jumped more than 2%.
At market close, the Shanghai Composite rose 1.19% to 3,870.28 points, the Shenzhen Component gained 2.4% to 13,224.51 points, and the ChiNext advanced 3.39% to 3,175.91 points. The STAR 50 Index climbed 2.47% to 1,325.33 points. Total market turnover reached 1.83 trillion yuan, with over 3,600 stocks rising.
The stealth capital appeared to channel through broad-based ETFs, with two such products showing unusual afternoon activity. The CSI 300 ETF recorded over 900 million yuan in the final trading hour, while three other major ETFs each exceeded 100 million yuan in volume. A500 ETFs dominated trading, with five top products combining for 45.291 billion yuan turnover. Huatai-PineBridge's A500 ETF led at 14.118 billion yuan, followed by ChinaAMC's at 9.754 billion yuan.
Total A500 ETF turnover hit 52.575 billion yuan - triple the 16.95 billion yuan for CSI 300 ETFs. Unlike previous rebounds, bank stocks remained stable while brokerages and insurers drove gains. Industry leader Huatai Securities (market cap exceeding 200 billion yuan) briefly approached the daily limit-up, closing over 6% higher. China Pacific Insurance surged beyond 4%, with China Life up over 3%.
Analysts are bullish on spring market momentum. Guotai Junan Securities noted China's "transition bull market" is poised for revival after prolonged consolidation, predicting year-end capital reallocation and institutional inflows will boost liquidity. Huatai Securities highlighted five structural investment themes amid stable domestic policies and favorable overseas liquidity conditions, recommending positioning for spring rallies.
Huaxi Securities emphasized that supportive policies create ideal conditions for risk assets, with macroeconomic improvements expected from domestic demand expansion policies. The firm views current market consolidation as an opportunity to prepare for spring momentum.
Historical analysis shows spring rallies typically span December-April, often launching 10-15 trading days before Lunar New Year. Large caps tend to lead pre-holiday, while small-mid caps outperform afterward during earnings quiet periods. Sectors with strong prior-year momentum frequently initiate early "valuation rotation." Given recent steep corrections and policy support, institutions consider this an optimal window for spring rally positioning.
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