On October 22, the Shanghai Composite Index opened slightly higher before declining steadily, while the Shenzhen Component Index and ChiNext Index opened lower and fell further, with all three major indices weakening throughout the day. Toward the close, trading volume in several broad-based ETFs surged.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.48% to 3,658.03 points, the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 2.96% to 11,357.32 points, the ChiNext Index declined 4.37% to 2,576.90 points, the STAR 50 Index fell 2.78% to 1,305.87 points, and the Beijing Stock Exchange 50 Index slipped 0.93% to 966.74 points. The Shanghai Composite Index hit a new closing low for the year, while the ChiNext Index reached its lowest close since August 18, 2025, retreating more than 40% from its June 25 high.
Combined turnover across the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets reached 1,528.708 billion yuan, an increase of 99.360 billion yuan from the previous trading day. Among A-shares on the two exchanges, 535 stocks advanced, 4,999 declined, and 43 were unchanged, with 33 hitting the daily limit up and 62 hitting the daily limit down. Advancing stocks accounted for approximately 9% of the total.
In terms of sectors, electric motors, white goods, large state-owned banks, lighting equipment, and ground armaments posted gains, while communications equipment, components, film and cinema chains, publishing, digital media, and advertising and marketing led the declines.
Driving Factors
Major Asia-Pacific stock indices all closed lower on the day. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 2.65% to 62,907.84 points, and South Korea's KOSPI dropped 3.52% to 5,533.76 points, with SK Hynix falling 5.49% and Samsung Electronics declining 4.03%. A-share technology heavyweights weakened in tandem.
On the news front, according to a CCTV News report on October 22, a correspondent learned on October 21 local time that U.S. and Israeli militaries have formulated specific plans to launch another military strike on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections conclude.
Overnight, the three major U.S. indices closed higher, with the Dow Jones up 0.69%, the Nasdaq up 1.05%, the S&P 500 up 0.58%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 1.97%. However, in after-hours trading, Tesla lowered its full-year capital expenditure guidance from over $25 billion to approximately $20 billion, and Nasdaq futures fell 0.6% in early Asia-Pacific trading.
During the third-quarter earnings disclosure window, heavyweight stocks continued to adjust. CATL fell 3.29% after dropping 12.03% on the previous trading day, and the battery sector declined 2.78%.
In terms of structure, among Shenwan secondary industries, only five sectors posted gains: electric motors, white goods, large state-owned banks, lighting equipment, and ground armaments. Computing power hardware directions such as communications equipment and components led the declines.
Hot Sectors
1. Humanoid Robots: The electric motors sector rose 3.58%, ranking first among Shenwan secondary industries. Daye Co. hit the daily limit up for a fifth consecutive session (with limit-up at the open on October 20 and 21), while Zhaowei Machinery & Electronics, Moons' Electric, Broad-Ocean Motor, and Xiangyang Bearing hit the daily limit up. Huayang Intelligent and Yifan Transmission both surged 20% to the daily limit up. The catalyst came from Tesla's third-quarter earnings report, in which Tesla announced it has begun producing the first batch of Optimus robots meeting mass-production quality standards at its Fremont, California factory. However, Musk said on the earnings call that Optimus still needs to resolve issues related to AI capabilities, mechanical reliability, and service life, and is expected to be delivered to external customers around late 2027. Unitree Robotics released a new humanoid robot product on October 21.
2. Banks: Large state-owned banks rose 0.71%, with ICBC up 1.66% to 8.59 yuan and China Construction Bank up 1.48% to 11.66 yuan, both hitting record highs. On October 21, ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China distributed 2026 interim cash dividends to A-share shareholders, totaling approximately 82.144 billion yuan. To date, 21 A-share listed banks have disclosed interim dividend plans, with a total proposed payout exceeding 260 billion yuan. The interim dividend payout ratio of the six major banks was raised from 30% to 31%.
3. Memory Chips: The semiconductor sector fell 2.93%, with individual stocks in the memory direction showing unusual movement in the afternoon. Yunhan Xincheng rose 16.16%, Renergy Technology hit the daily limit up, and Huatian Technology gained 9.12%, touching the daily limit up price intraday. According to a forecast released by TrendForce on October 21, DRAM contract prices are expected to rise approximately 20% quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Declining Sectors
Communications equipment fell 7.09% and components dropped 6.21%, the two Shenwan secondary industries with the largest declines on the day. Both sectors have been adjusting since late September and continued to lead declines on the day. Eoptolink fell 12.28%, Zhongji Innolight dropped 8.76%, and T&S Communications declined 8.36%, while Chongda Technology and Huashengchang hit the daily limit down.
The media direction weakened in tandem, with film and cinema chains down 5.91%, publishing down 5.16%, digital media down 5.06%, and advertising and marketing down 4.98%. Xinhua Media, Yue Media, Inly Media, Longban Media, and Decai Group hit the daily limit down, while Guomai Culture fell 13.75%.
In pharmaceuticals, medical services fell 4.03%, with Nearshore Protein down 20% to the daily limit down, Asymchem falling 8.26%, and Joinn Laboratories declining 6.29%.
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