A-shares fluctuated at a low level in the afternoon session: the three major indexes generally fell, and the shipping and chemical sectors strengthened against the trend

Midday review: Market volatility adjustment, individual stocks generally decline

On the morning of May 15th (Thursday), the three major stock indexes of A-shares continued their weak and volatile trend, lacking significant hot spot driving during the trading session. As of noon, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.42% to close at 3389.75 points; The Shenzhen Component Index fell 1.12% to 10238.63 points; The ChiNext Index fell by 1.35% to close at 2055.06 points; The Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index fell 0.6% to 3919.65 points; The Sci Tech Innovation 50 Index fell 1.06% to 1003.00 points; Beizheng 50 showed relatively strong performance, rising 0.55% to 1428.73 points.

The overall market sentiment is weak, with individual stocks falling more and rising less. The main funds continued to show a net outflow trend throughout the day, with a net outflow amount of 38.049 billion yuan.

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Capital flow: Small metals and biological products attract gold, while the technology sector is under pressure from capital selling

From the perspective of capital flow, the small metal sector received a net inflow of 909 million yuan, ranking first among all industries; Biological products (+669 million yuan), food and beverage (+587 million yuan), chemical pharmaceuticals (+433 million yuan), and agriculture, animal husbandry, feed and fishery (+231 million yuan) have also shown a certain ability to attract gold.

On the contrary, the direction of science and technology has been adjusted significantly, with the net outflow of Internet service sector ranking first at 4.266 billion yuan, and significant outflow of funds for software development (-4258 billion yuan), semiconductor (-2102 million yuan), special equipment (-1916 million yuan) and communication equipment (-1707 million yuan).

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Hot topics in the sector: Shipping, chemicals, and cosmetics are strengthening against the trend

• The shipping port sector continues to be active
  The shipping port sector continues to strengthen, with Nanjing Port, Ningbo Shipping, and Ningbo Ocean Shipping recording three consecutive boards, and stocks such as Air China COSCO Shipping and COSCO Shipping also showing strong performance. On the news front, the main freight rate contract for European routes increased by over 10% in early trading, coupled with the rise in freight rates for US routes, the booking volume of container transportation from China to the United States surged by nearly 300%, triggering expectations of a "rush to transport".

• The chemical industry sector continues to rebound
  Chemical fiber and chemical industry stocks overall strengthened, with Jilin Chemical Fiber hitting the daily limit up for two consecutive days, while Yinglite and Liuguo Chemical were strongly closed. Affected by the economic and trade talks between China and the United States, which have boosted market sentiment, as well as news of price increases for some chemical raw materials, the industry's prosperity has improved. Jilin Chemical Fiber has issued a price adjustment letter stating that the price of wet process 3K carbon fiber will be increased by 10000 yuan/ton.

• Cosmetics stocks attract capital attention
  The cosmetics sector also saw significant gains, with Huaye Flavors surging by over 14%, Furuida and Lafang Jahwa hitting the limit up, and companies such as Shuiyang and Betainy also performing well. The main driving factor comes from the launch of Tmall's 618 promotion, and Li Jiaqi's live broadcast on the first day of the "Beauty Hot Products Festival" showed impressive results, which increased the market's attention to consumer stocks.

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Topic dynamics: Recombinant collagen, antibiotics and other locally active substances

From the perspective of hot topics, areas such as recombinant collagen, antibiotic raw materials, daily ceramics, pet economy, and maternal and child care have seen the highest growth rates. Relatively speaking, concept stocks such as high-voltage direct current transmission, uninterruptible power supply, underwater data centers, AI assistants, and building leasing have experienced significant declines.

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Institutional interpretation: Structural opportunities dominate the market, focusing on the allocation of value in the consumer and financial sectors

• Minsheng SecuritiesIt is believed that although global economic volatility increases in the short term, Chinese assets may perform better than overseas. It is recommended to focus on consumer sectors with long-term return mechanisms (such as home appliances, automobiles, food and beverage, cosmetics, etc.) and undervalued financial targets (banks, insurance), while resources and capital goods also have medium to long-term allocation value.

• Huaan SecuritiesIt is suggested that before the gradual introduction of the policy "combination punch", the market will still maintain a volatile pattern. The current financial sector is at the right time, and the growth oriented technology sector is also worth paying attention to after deep adjustments. It is suggested to allocate towards banks and pan TMT direction.

• Orient SecuritiesIt is pointed out that the index maintains a volatile upward trend, and if big finance continues to exert its strength, it is expected to drive more themes to rotate and supplement their gains. It is recommended that investors pay attention to structural opportunities and control the pace.