On March 30, the Shanghai Composite Index rebounded from early losses to close 0.24% higher, after falling more than 1% during the morning session. The ChiNext and Shenzhen Component indices ended lower, while the banking sector demonstrated defensive strength with most stocks closing in positive territory. Bank of Xiamen led gains with nearly a 4% rise, followed by Industrial And Commercial Bank Of China Limited climbing over 2% after its earnings report. Bank of China, Chongqing Bank, Bank of Shanghai, and Bank of Communications all rose more than 1%. The large-cap bank ETF HuaBao (512800) opened lower but advanced during trading, with its price rising as much as 0.76% before settling 0.38% higher, reclaiming its 10-day moving average.
Escalating geopolitical tensions have heightened market caution, boosting demand for safe-haven assets. High-dividend defensive instruments are expected to attract increased capital inflows. In sector news, four major state-owned banks—ICBC, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings Bank—recently disclosed annual reports showing steady expansion in asset scale and dual growth in revenue and net profit. Despite industry-wide challenges from narrowing net interest margins, bank managements signaled expectations for margin stabilization, which received positive market feedback.
CITIC Securities noted that disclosed banking results largely met expectations, with limited surprises anticipated in upcoming reports. Looking ahead to the first quarter, the sector is expected to maintain stable asset deployment, with interest margins declining as projected and credit risk remaining relatively steady. Profit growth is likely to continue stabilizing and trending upward. As market risk appetite weakens and broad liquidity conditions stay balanced, equity assets like bank stocks may appeal more to capital seeking lower volatility, supporting both relative and absolute returns.
Galaxy Securities highlighted that growing risk-aversion demand enhances the allocation value of the banking sector. Future recovery is expected to stem more from fundamental improvements, with earnings flexibility likely to strengthen by 2026. In a low-interest-rate environment with increasing participation of medium- to long-term capital, the banking sector’s high-dividend, low-valuation characteristics remain attractive to long-term investors such as insurance funds, accelerating valuation repricing and reinforcing the appeal of banking dividends.
Bank ETF (512800) and its feeder funds (Class A: 240019; Class C: 006697) passively track the CSI Bank Index, which includes 42 listed banks in the A-share market, serving as an efficient tool for tracking overall sector performance. With assets exceeding 12 billion yuan and average daily turnover surpassing 800 million yuan since 2025, Bank ETF (512800) ranks as the largest and most liquid among the ten banking ETFs in the A-share market.
Data source: Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. Institutional views sourced from: CITIC Securities report dated March 29, 2026, "Interpreting the Latest Banking Financial Reports"; Galaxy Securities report dated March 29, 2026, "Controlled Impact of U.S.-Iran Conflict on Sector, Rising Safe-Haven Demand."
ETF fee note: Subscription or redemption agents may charge a commission of up to 0.5%, inclusive of fees levied by exchanges and registration institutions. Feeder fund fee details: HuaBao CSI Bank ETF Feeder Fund (Class A) applies a front-end subscription fee of 1,000 yuan per transaction for amounts of 2 million yuan or more, 0.6% for 1–2 million yuan, and 1% for amounts below 1 million yuan. Redemption fees are 1.5% for holdings under 7 days, 0.5% for 7–180 days, 0.25% for 180 days to 1 year, and 0% for holdings of 1 year or longer; no sales service fee is charged. For Class C shares, no subscription fee applies; redemption fees are 1.5% for holdings under 7 days and 0% thereafter, with a 0.4% sales service fee.
Risk disclosure: Bank ETF passively tracks the CSI Bank Index, which has a base date of December 31, 2004, and was launched on July 15, 2013. Index constituents are adjusted per its rules; past performance does not indicate future results. Constituent stock mentions are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute investment advice or reflect fund holdings. The fund manager rates this fund as R3-medium risk, suitable for balanced (C3) or higher risk-tolerance investors. All information provided is for reference only; investors are responsible for their own decisions. No content herein constitutes investment advice, and no liability is accepted for losses resulting from its use. Fund investments carry risks; past performance is not indicative of future results, and other funds’ performance does not guarantee this fund’s returns. Invest with caution.
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