Internet News Information Service License Number: 51120180008
■ He Wan Nan
Affected by the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East that erupted at the end of February this year, the SSE Index fell from 4,197 points to 3,794 points. Currently, there are signs of easing in the Middle East situation, and investor sentiment in the A-share market has warmed up. On April 10, the SSE Index broke through the 4,000-point mark during trading and closed this week at 3,986 points (weekly increase of 2.73%). Notably, the ChiNext Index surged 9.58% this week, reaching a new high since December 2021.
What are the reasons behind the strong new highs of the ChiNext Index?
For the capital market, the most difficult aspect to judge is the uncertainty of the future, and buying stocks is essentially a prediction of the future. The biggest characteristic of the Middle East situation is its uncertainty: information warfare and public opinion warfare are intertwined, making it difficult to discern the truth of the news, and market expectations and objective realities repeatedly &#34;slap each other in the face,&#34; creating a cycle of expectation adjustments and re-adjustments, pulling investor sentiment back and forth.
In particular, the closure and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the lifeline of oil transportation, has become a suspense. Oil prices rose from $80 per barrel to $110 per barrel, and then experienced a &#34;frightening drop&#34;; gold rose due to safe-haven demand, then faced liquidity sell-offs, and subsequently strengthened again. Asset prices have been repeatedly reassessed, making it difficult for investors to adapt to such violent fluctuations.
The reason why the ChiNext can strengthen against the trend is that it seeks relatively certain macro (industry structure) and micro (leading companies) environments amid the uncertainty of the broader environment.
In terms of industry structure, over 70% of the listed companies on the ChiNext are in new productive forces such as new energy, semiconductors, AI, and pharmaceuticals. The Middle East conflict has pushed up international oil prices, forcing a global acceleration of energy transition. Weighty companies in the ChiNext, such as those in photovoltaics, energy storage, and new energy, directly benefit, with leading enterprises experiencing high growth in orders and performance.
Among the five major weight stocks on the ChiNext, aside from Dongfang Caifu, a brokerage stock, the others include CATL and the &#34;Yi Zhong Tian&#34; technology combination. The largest weight stock, CATL (power batteries + energy storage dual track), is expected to see a 42% profit growth by 2025. According to mainstream investment banks like JP Morgan, total demand and production for lithium batteries are expected to grow by over 50% by 2026. In the &#34;Yi Zhong Tian&#34; combination, the global surge in AI computing infrastructure has led to an explosion in demand for 800G/1.6T optical modules in global data centers. Among them, Zhongji Innolight's annual report shows a 108% performance growth, Tianfu Communication's annual report shows a 50% performance growth, and Xinyi Sheng has not yet disclosed its annual report, but its third-quarter report last year showed a 385% performance growth. Currently, both Zhongji Innolight and Xinyi Sheng's stock prices have reached new highs since their listing.
In addition, technology stocks such as Shenghong Technology (high-precision circuit boards), Yiwei Lithium Energy (new energy), Jiangbolong (semiconductors), and Changchuan Technology (semiconductors) have seen significant performance increases, with many stock prices reaching or nearing new highs, thus forming an independent market trend of &#34;post-conflict recovery + trend rise.&#34;
The Middle East conflict is an external uncertainty factor. Of course, since crude oil is the &#34;blood&#34; of industry, it will have a short-term impact on most industries and enterprises. However, for self-controllable hard technology stocks, geopolitical conflicts will strengthen the logic of technological independence. The impact of the Middle East geopolitical conflict on growth stocks is a short-term emotional disturbance rather than a fundamental suppression
After the repeated cycles of expected adjustments and re-adjustments caused by the situation in the Middle East, those hard technology sectors that are self-controllable have received dual support from policies and funds, becoming the core allocation direction for capital.
That being said, why does the STAR Market perform mediocrely?
Companies on the STAR Market belong to the hard technology + high valuation track, with the current average price-to-earnings ratio of the ChiNext at 45 times, while the price-to-earnings ratio of the STAR Market exceeds 70 times, and there are quite a few unprofitable companies, leading to a higher risk of valuation bubbles.
In terms of industry structure, the electronic sector dominates the STAR Market, with electronics (semiconductors) accounting for nearly 70% of the STAR 50, while the proportion of new energy is too low. Its five major weighted stocks (Haiguang Information, Cambrian, Zhongwei Company, SMIC, and Lanke Technology) are all in the semiconductor industry. Although their performance has grown, their dynamic price-to-earnings ratios exceed 100 times. In the first quarter of 2026, the global semiconductor industry is still in a destocking cycle, with weak demand for equipment and materials, putting pressure on the performance of a significant portion of semiconductor companies. In contrast, the ChiNext has over 40% of its composition in new energy and power equipment (AI computing power), directly benefiting from the global energy transition.
On the other hand, liquidity on the STAR Market is limited, with an entry threshold of 500,000 yuan in assets plus two years of trading experience, resulting in a smaller investor base; the ChiNext has no special thresholds, allowing all investors to participate, leading to stronger capital absorption. Statistics show that the average daily turnover rate of the ChiNext is about 3%, while that of the STAR Market is only 0.8%.
The impact of the Middle East situation on the A-share market is primarily characterized by short-term emotional disturbances and structural differentiation among sectors, which will not change the mid-term operational trend of the A-share market.
Editor | Chen Yuhe
Reviewer | Wang Wei

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This week, the ChiNext index surged by 9.58%, reaching a new high since December 2021, influenced by the easing of the Middle East situation and the warming of A-share investment sentiment. The SSE Index broke through 4,000 points, closing at 3,986 points. Among ChiNext companies, emerging industries such as new energy, semiconductors, and AI account for over 70%, benefiting from the rise in international oil prices, which is driving the global energy transition. Leading companies like CATL and Zhongji Innolight have seen significant performance growth

腾讯新闻 - 财经

E Fund GEM ETF

SSE Index

CATL

ChinaAMC SSE STAR Semiconductor Material & Equipment Thematic ETF

Zhongji Innolight

ChiNext

Guotai CSI All Share Integrated Circuit ETF

He Wan-nan: This week surged by 9.58%, reaching a new high in over 4 years! What is the reason for the ChiNext's strong lead?