The three major A-share indices of Shanghai and Shenzhen opened lower by 0.2%-0.4%, gold stocks rose, and chip stocks were subdued

The central parity rate of the RMB against the USD was lowered by 8 points to 7.0014 per US dollar. The People's Bank of China today (21st) conducted a 7-day reverse repurchase operation of 363.5 billion RMB in the open market, with the operation rate remaining at 1.4%. Today, 240.8 billion RMB of reverse repos are maturing, resulting in a net injection of 122.7 billion RMB for the day.

The three major indices of A-shares opened lower. The Shanghai Composite Index opened at 4,103 points, down 0.3% or 10 points. The Shenzhen Component Index opened at 14,102 points, down 53 points or 0.4%. The ChiNext Index opened at 3,270 points, down 7 points or 0.2%.

Banking stocks such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SH) and China Construction Bank (601939.SH) opened lower by 0.1% and higher by 0.1%, respectively. In addition, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (300750.SZ) opened higher by 0.7%. BYD (002594.SZ) opened lower by 0.8%.

Vanke A (000002.SZ) opened higher by 1.5%, as Vanke will pay the interest on the "21 Vanke 02" bond tomorrow (22nd).

With geopolitical tensions rising, safe-haven funds are flowing into the gold market, leading to new highs in international gold prices. Gold-related stocks are rising, with Zijin Mining (601899.SH), SD-GOLD (600547.SH), ZHONGJIN GOLD (600489.SH), and Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining (600988.SH) rising by 1.2%-3%.

Chip stocks are weak, with SMIC A (688981.SH) and Hua Hong Semiconductor (688347.SH) opening lower by 1% and 1.7%, respectively. AI chip stock Cambricon Technologies (688256.SH) opened lower by 0.6%.

Yonghui Superstores (601933) opened lower by 2.7%, with the company expected to expand its losses to 2.14 billion RMB in 2025, closing 381 stores throughout the year