On August 5th, rumors surfaced in the market that the United States plans to ban imports of new Chinese optical modules. This triggered a collective sell-off in optical module leader stocks. Zhongji Innolight (中际旭创) fell over 13% at one point, Eoptolink (新易盛) dropped more than 8%, and Tianfu Communication (天孚通信) declined over 5%. However, at the ETF level, a notable detail emerged: under the same negative pressure from optical modules, the intraday adjustment of the ChiNext Artificial Intelligence ETF (159363) was significantly milder than that of pure communication-based ETFs.
While both contain optical module stocks, the "optical module exposure" in the ChiNext AI ETF and communication ETFs are fundamentally different. The answer lies in the underlying index structure. A high weighting of large-cap stocks provides resilience, while the inclusion of AI applications offers support. Let's look at the weighting structure first. In the ChiNext Artificial Intelligence Index, core computing stocks like "Yi Zhong Tian" (Eoptolink, Zhongji Innolight, Tianfu Communication) have a concentrated weighting, with a single stock cap of 15%. Large-cap leaders show stronger resilience and better resistance to declines during liquidity shocks. In contrast, the communications sector remains constrained by the valuation anchors of traditional equipment makers, facing a clear PE ceiling. It contains more small and mid-cap stocks, which often suffer deeper losses during sentiment-driven sell-offs.
Next, consider the "shock absorber" role of AI applications. Referencing US-listed SaaS benchmarks, stocks like Snowflake and Datadog are hitting new highs, while Palantir surged on better-than-expected quarterly results. The market is assigning a high premium to the ability to commercialize AI applications. The ChiNext AI Index gathers numerous stocks combining software and hardware. The AI application sector remained active today, effectively hedging against negative developments in the hardware side. Pure communication ETFs, on the other hand, rely almost entirely on optical modules as a single leg, leaving them with no shelter when negative news hits.
In summary, in the new AI era, expectations for strong earnings growth from overseas cloud service providers (CSPs) continue to rise. Computing infrastructure is accelerating its transition from the "construction phase" to the "harvest phase." In this context, investment focus should center on two major directions: first, computing companies with core strategic positions, such as optical module leaders; and second, AI application developers that have achieved early commercial viability. Computing power provides growth certainty, while applications unlock valuation potential, and their synergy forms the core theme of AI investment. The ChiNext AI ETF (159363) and its OTC feeder funds (Class A 023407, Class C 023408) focus on CPO (Co-Packaged Optics) leaders in optical modules while also including AI applications. The underlying index contains approximately 40% weighting in Zhongji Innolight, Eoptolink, and Tianfu Communication, making it a core flag bearer for AI computing power. Additionally, the ChiNext AI ETF (159363) has a latest scale exceeding 6.4 billion yuan and an average daily trading volume over the past six months surpassing 1 billion yuan, leading the eight ETFs tracking the same index in terms of scale and liquidity. Data source: Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, etc. Fee notes for ETFs: When investors subscribe or redeem fund shares, the subscription/redemption agency may charge a commission of up to 0.5%. On-exchange trading fees are based on the actual fees charged by the securities company, and no sales service fee is charged. Fee notes for Feeder Funds: ChiNext AI ETF Feeder Fund Class C does not charge a subscription fee; the redemption fee is 1.5% for holding periods less than 7 days and 0% for 7 days or more; the sales service fee is 0.3%. ChiNext AI ETF Feeder Fund Class A charges a subscription fee of 1% for amounts under 1 million yuan, 0.6% for amounts between 1 million yuan (inclusive) and 2 million yuan, and 1,000 yuan per transaction for amounts of 2 million yuan or more; the redemption fee is 1.5% for holding periods less than 7 days and 0% for 7 days or more; no sales service fee is charged. Risk Warning: The ChiNext AI ETF passively tracks the ChiNext AI Index, with a base date of December 28, 2018, and a release date of July 11, 2024. The annual returns of the index from 2021 to 2025 were 17.57%, -34.52%, 47.83%, 38.44%, and 106.35%, respectively. The annualized volatility of the index over the same periods was 23.73%, 27.34%, 38.02%, 45.42%, and 41.1%. The constituent stocks of the index are adjusted periodically according to its compilation rules, and back-tested historical performance does not indicate future index performance. The index constituent stocks mentioned in this article are for display purposes only. Descriptions of individual stocks do not constitute investment advice in any form and do not represent the holdings or trading intentions of any fund managed by the fund manager. Based on the fund manager's assessment, the risk level of the ChiNext AI ETF is R4 (medium-high risk), suitable for aggressive (C4) and above investors. Please refer to the sales organization for suitability matching opinions. Any information appearing in this article (including but not limited to individual stocks, comments, forecasts, charts, indicators, theories, or any form of expression) is for reference only. Investors must be responsible for their own independent investment decisions. Furthermore, any views, analyses, or forecasts in this article do not constitute investment advice to readers in any form, and the authors are not liable for any direct or indirect losses arising from the use of this content. Fund investments carry risks. Past performance of a fund does not represent its future performance. The performance of other funds managed by the same fund manager does not guarantee the performance of this fund. Invest in funds with caution.
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