Key pre-market headlines
AI market leaders suffer heavy losses, with optical communications and storage sectors falling sharply together. The negative sentiment stems from fresh turmoil in the Middle East and the ongoing "Treasury bond storm," which dragged all three major US indices lower. AI high-flyers tumbled, with SK Hynix in the storage space dropping 9.2% and SanDisk falling 9.01%. In optical communications, Coherent plunged 12.75% and Lumentum slid 9.87%. Intel shed 6.58%, while Marvell Technology dropped 7.82%.
Robotics sector receives multiple catalysts, with Yushu Technology Co., Ltd. (688836.SH) listing today. A single lot subscription could yield gains of up to 350,000 yuan. Humanoid robotics is seeing multiple boosts as Yushu officially lands on the STAR Market. Based on the average first-day closing gain of 463.24% for STAR Market new listings this year, the profit per lot could reach 349,300 yuan. Additionally, the 2026 World Robot Conference opens in Beijing on August 19, featuring four themed days for the first time, and a central SOE robotics innovation consortium will be established.
Major development: Housing provident funds can now invest in policy financial bonds, activating 10.9 trillion yuan in "dormant capital." The 10.9 trillion yuan housing provident fund is undergoing its most significant systematic revision in nearly two decades, covering four key areas: expanding withdrawal and usage scope, improving management service efficiency, widening coverage, and strengthening risk prevention. Caitong Securities notes that if provident fund interest rates decline, the property sector could at least see an index-level rebound, though whether it evolves into a turning-point rally depends on stabilization progress in core cities.
US officials report that Trump has instructed his negotiation team to suspend contact with Iran. The team includes Vice President Vance, Special Envoy Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law Kushner. A source adds that White House officials have recently conveyed to political allies a shift in Iran strategy—from "striking Iran quickly" to a long-term approach of "gripping Iran by the throat."
The Shanghai Stock Exchange has taken action, suspending trading for certain accounts linked to the hot stock Aili Home, which surged 12 times in 13 days. On the evening of August 18, Aili Home issued a risk warning, stating that its share price has hit the daily limit for 12 consecutive sessions, accumulating significant trading risk. If the stock continues to rise abnormally, the company will apply for a trading halt and review. The exchange has also imposed self-regulatory measures, including account trading suspensions, on related investors.
Investment calendar
World Robot Conference
Investment tips
People tend to seek simple reasons for their decisions and often base those decisions on whether such reasons exist—[US] Aswath Damodaran, "Investment Philosophies"
Institutional perspectives
GF Securities: After the sector rotation rebound, focus shifts to interim report and full-year fundamentals validation, along with forward-looking prosperity signals. Industrial Securities: Hard tech remains the core of recovery, with more prosperity clues beyond AI being gradually seen and trusted by the market. Founder Securities: Without sustained volume expansion, the market is expected to remain volatile; opportunities should be sought in high-prosperity sectors.
Positive and negative outlook
Super El Ni帽o on the horizon, what impact on agricultural stocks? Kaiyuan Securities: During the four historically strong El Ni帽o events, commodity prices performed divergently. Planting and seed industries face direct weather disruptions, while aquaculture may benefit short-term from improved feed costs. Planting companies face yield and quality risks from extreme weather, while the seed industry could benefit mid-to-long term from rising demand for stress-resistant varieties.
Win10 end-of-support plus SASAC Document 79 countdown, a big year for domestic operating systems. Cinda Securities: The market space for China's government, public institutions, and central SOE IT innovation is approximately 632.5 billion yuan. GF Securities' industry report on IT innovation shows that the two previous rounds of IT innovation rallies point to a market space exceeding one trillion yuan for industry PC and server segments.
Power semiconductors eyeing another price hike, with some firms possibly raising prices in October. Guosen Securities: Forecasts suggest the global power electronics market will grow at a 7.1% CAGR from 2025 to 2031, reaching $41.3 billion. AI infrastructure and data centers are the main growth drivers, with domestic super-node deployments also boosting demand for supporting power devices, while other market segments recover.
Announcement digest
Positive announcements: Tianshan Aluminum: H1 2026 net profit of 4.177 billion yuan, up 100.44% year-on-year. Pu Ran Shares: H1 net profit of 827 million yuan, up 1930% year-on-year. Tianfu Communication: H1 net profit up 34% year-on-year, with stable growth in high-speed optical component demand.
Negative announcements: Shoukai Co.: Filed a lawsuit over contract disputes, involving approximately 1.143 billion yuan. Hisun Biomaterials: Wholly-owned subsidiary involved in a construction contract dispute, with an amount of 67.6074 million yuan. Kelai Mechatronics: Controlling shareholder and one of the actual controllers, Chen Jiukang, plans to reduce holdings by no more than 3% of shares.
Overseas markets
Note: The "bond storm" narrative spread, with all three major indices closing lower. Storage, optical communications, and AI cloud services sectors fell sharply, with SanDisk, SK Hynix, and Seagate dropping over 9%, Micron falling over 7%, and Coherent down over 12%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell over 1%, while Alibaba rose 2.76%.
This article is adapted from "Tencent Self-Selected Stocks."
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