A-shares decline with reduced volume, banks and chemicals support the market, Huabao Fund's billion-yuan Bank ETF posts three consecutive positive days against the trend! The ChiNext artificial intelligence sector plunges in the afternoon, funds rush to buy 159363!

On Thursday (March 26), the A-shares adjusted with reduced volume, and the three major indices fell over 1% after peaking. The Shanghai Composite Index once again fell below 3900 points, and the total trading volume of the two markets dropped below 2 trillion yuan. On the surface, market hotspots exhibited weak rotation, with over 4400 stocks in the entire market declining.

On the surface, the banking and chemical sectors were defensive amid the market decline. The 100 billion yuan bank ETF, Hua Bao (512800), rose against the trend, marking three consecutive daily gains, showcasing its defensive nature in a volatile market. Catalyzed by news of price increases from global chemical giant BASF, the chemical ETF Hua Bao (516020) once surged over 2% during the session.

Market risk appetite has decreased, with deep declines in fintech and computing power technology stocks, leading to buying opportunities during dips. Among them, the fintech ETF Hua Bao (159851) dropped 3.42%, leading the market decline and hitting a new low in this adjustment phase, with over 100 million shares subscribed; additionally, the ChiNext AI ETF Hua Bao (159363) plunged 2.56% in the afternoon, with a net subscription of 44 million shares.

Looking ahead, Xiangcai Securities pointed out that in the short term, conflicts in the Middle East have become a major factor affecting the A-share market. Regarding April, it is expected that the situation in the Middle East will change, while the domestic capital market will enter a stage of volatility and bottoming out. It is recommended to focus on defensive long-term funds entering related dividend sectors, waiting for the tech sectors linked to the “14th Five-Year Plan” to form a bottom.*

[ETF All You Need to Know Hotspot Review] Focus on discussing the trading and fundamentals of sector-themed ETFs such as banking, chemicals, and ChiNext AI.

1. Market style rebalancing, banks showing defensiveness! The 100 billion yuan bank ETF Hua Bao (512800) attracts capital attention.

The banking sector closed in the green against the market trend, demonstrating defensiveness. The 100 billion yuan bank ETF Hua Bao (512800) closed up 0.25%, marking three consecutive daily gains and surpassing the 10-day moving average. Most individual stocks rose, with Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank, CITIC Bank, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rising over 1%.

In the current tense global geopolitical situation, market volatility has increased, highlighting the defensive attributes of the banking sector, which has attracted capital attention. Data from the Shanghai Stock Exchange shows that the bank ETF (512800) has seen a net inflow of 131 million yuan over the past three days.

Guosheng Securities pointed out that the balanced style, combined with the earnings season, presents investment opportunities for bank stocks. In terms of performance, the earnings reports and annual reports of listed banks are being disclosed one after another, with most banks showing steady improvement in revenue and stable asset quality. From a trading perspective, the significant net outflow of index funds at the beginning of the year has come to an end, and with the impact of geopolitical conflicts and the price trends of related resources, the capital market’s risk appetite is rebalancing. The banking sector, as an important heavyweight stock and stabilizer, has seen the dividend yield of half of its adjusted stocks rise above 4.5%, highlighting its current allocation value.

The fund manager of the bank ETF (512800), Feng Chen Cheng, believes that the banking sector has undergone sufficient prior adjustments and possesses safety margins; the current market’s declining risk appetite is favorable for certain dividend assets like banks. Meanwhile, the pressure on revenue growth in the banking sector for 2026 is improving, and the stabilization of net interest margins is driving better performance, with asset quality indicators remaining stable and controllable, presenting positive factors for market conditions.

The bank ETF (512800) and its connected funds (Class A: 240019; Class C: 006697) passively track the CSI Bank Index, which includes 42 listed banks in A-shares, making it an efficient investment tool for tracking the overall performance of the banking sector. The latest scale of the bank ETF (512800) exceeds 12 billion yuan, with an average daily trading volume of over 800 million since 2025, making it the largest and most liquid among the ten bank ETFs in A-shares!

2. Nearly 10 billion yuan of main capital buying against the trend! The resilience of the chemical sector is evident; the Hua Bao chemical ETF (516020) surged over 2% during trading, with lithium batteries and fluorochemicals collectively exploding.

Amid the market’s adjustment, the resilience of the chemical sector is evident. The chemical ETF Hua Bao (516020), which reflects the overall trend of the chemical sector, once rose over 2% during the session but later retreated with the market, ultimately closing flat.

In terms of constituent stocks, lithium batteries surged collectively, with fluorochemicals also performing well. As the market closed, Enjie Co., Ltd. soared 4.75%, while multiple fluorine chemical stocks, including Dongyue Group and Satellite Chemical, both rose over 3%. Tianqi Lithium, New Era Materials, and Xingyuan Material also rose over 2%.

Notably, despite a significant market correction in the past two weeks, the chemical sector has still achieved positive returns this year. Data shows that as of today’s close, the chemical ETF Hua Bao (516020) has recorded a cumulative increase of 4.74% for the year, significantly outperforming major A-share indices such as the Shanghai Composite Index (-2.01%) and CSI 300 Index (-3.29%).

Data source: Wind, with the valuation range from January 1, 2026, to March 25, 2026. The performance of the chemical index over the last five complete years is as follows: 2021, 15.72%; 2022, -26.89%; 2023, -23.17%; 2024, -3.83%; 2025, 41.09%. The composition of the index constituents is adjusted according to the index compilation rules, and its historical back-tested performance does not predict future performance.

On the funding side, today the chemical sector continued to attract main capital. Wind data shows that as of the close, the basic chemical sector had a net inflow of main capital of 9.998 billion yuan for the day, ranking first among the 30 CITIC primary industries; over the past five days, the basic chemical sector has accumulated a total inflow of 18.9 billion yuan, ranking second among the 30 CITIC primary industries.

Looking ahead, Kaiyuan Securities pointed out that amidst geopolitical conflicts, high volatility in oil prices significantly disrupts market risk appetite, the production and sales rhythm of chemical entities, and end-demand. Recently, the overall weakness of the chemical sector is essentially a concentrated release of this event risk. Once the risks are fully cleared, the sector’s performance will fully return to being driven by its own fundamentals. This round of geopolitical conflict is expected to provide new momentum for the rise of China’s chemical industry, and the long-term logic of industry prosperity continues to strengthen.*

How to seize opportunities in the chemical sector? Utilizing the chemical ETF Hua Bao (516020) may offer higher efficiency. Public data shows that the chemical ETF Hua Bao (516020) tracks the CSI Segmented Chemical Industry Theme Index, with a combined weight exceeding 80% from the oil, petrochemical, and basic chemical sectors. Off-market investors can also utilize the Hua Bao connected fund (Class A 012537/Class C 012538) to gain exposure to the chemical sector.

3. ChiNext AI plunged in the afternoon; capital used 159363 to seize buying opportunities! Institutions clearly identify three judgments on optical modules, with short-term fluctuations not altering long-term prosperity.

The ChiNext AI sector showed widespread declines, with only Tianfu Communication rising over 2% and Feilixin rising over 1%. IDC computing power leasing, AI applications, and others all fell sharply, with Dongfang Guoxin leading the decline at 7%, and multiple stocks such as Tongniu Information, Huahuan Xinwang, Xingchen Technology, and Capital Online dropping over 5%.

In terms of popular ETFs, the ChiNext AI ETF Hua Bao (159363), which has the largest scale and liquidity in its category, plunged in the afternoon, closing down 2.56% with a reduced trading volume of 556 million yuan. The sector is currently in a box consolidation phase, with capital showing characteristics of buying low and selling high, resulting in a net subscription of 44 million shares in 159363 during today’s dip.

Analysis indicates that the current conflict situation has exacerbated market turbulence, putting pressure on risk appetite and liquidity, and disrupting expectations for the AI technology industry. However, from a medium- to long-term perspective, institutions remain firmly optimistic about investment opportunities in core targets of the computing power industry.

Tianfeng Securities expresses optimism for core manufacturers in the computing power industry. The high prosperity overseas continues, with financial reports validating strong AI demand and ongoing fundamental resonance. Domestically, the development of domestic computing power, coupled with investments from major companies like Alibaba and ByteDance, suggests high prosperity for the AI and AIDC industry chain is promising. By 2026, domestic demand for AI infrastructure is expected to improve, and applications are likely to land. The continuous progress of AI in China and the U.S. is accelerating inference, and it is recommended to pay attention to AI industry dynamics and application opportunities.*

Regarding optical modules, Guosheng Securities points out that the GTC and OFC conferences have led to the following judgments: on the demand side, prosperity before 2030 is assured, driven by both scale-up and scale-out; on the technology side, fiber optics and copper are advancing together, with multiple long-term coexistence routes for CPO/NPO/XPO; on the industry side, the concentration of leading companies is accelerating. Leading companies in optical modules, with comprehensive technological layouts and supply chain advantages, will continue to benefit from global AI growth as core choices for CSPs and chip customers.

To seize opportunities in AI infrastructure, it is recommended to focus on the ChiNext AI ETF (159363) and its off-market connections (Class A 023407, Class C 023408), which directly benefit from the explosive growth dividends of AI technology commercialization. In terms of investment strategy, the ChiNext AI portfolio allocates about 60% to computing power (leading optical modules/CPO) and about 40% to AI applications, representing not only the core of “computing power” but also truly embodying “AI applications.”

As of February 28, 2026, the latest scale of the ChiNext AI ETF Hua Bao is 6.745 billion yuan, with an average daily turnover of 885 million over the past six months, ranking first among the 26 ETFs tracking the ChiNext AI index, Sci-Tech AI index, and Sci-Tech ChiNext AI index.

Note: Fee rates are detailed in each fund’s legal documents.

Source: Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, etc., as of March 26, 2026. Reminder: Recent market fluctuations may be significant, and short-term gains and losses do not indicate future performance. Investors must make rational investments based on their financial situation and risk tolerance, paying close attention to position and risk management.

*Institutional opinions reference materials: Xiangcai Securities “April Market May Enter Stage of Volatility and Bottoming”; Guosheng Securities March 22, 2026 “Balanced Style Coupled with Earnings Season, Bank Stocks Welcome Investment Opportunities”; Kaiyuan Securities March 22, 2026 Basic Chemical Industry Weekly Report “Chemicals Enter Hitting Zone, Fully Continue to Strongly Favor Chemical Bull Market”; Tianfeng Securities “OFC and GTC Bullish Points, AI Optical Interconnection Continues to Innovate”; Guosheng Securities “GTC and OFC Summary: A New Starting Point for Light”

Risk Warning: The bank ETF passively tracks the CSI Bank Index, with a base date of December 31, 2004, announced on July 15, 2013; the ChiNext AI ETF Hua Bao passively tracks the ChiNext AI Index, with a base date of December 28, 2018, announced on July 11, 2024; the chemical ETF Hua Bao passively tracks the CSI Segmented Chemical Industry Theme Index, with a base date of December 31, 2004, announced on April 11, 2012; the composition of index constituents is adjusted according to the rules of index compilation, and its historical back-tested performance does not predict future performance. The individual stocks mentioned in the text are purely for objective display and do not constitute any individual stock recommendation, nor do they represent the investment direction of the fund manager. Any information appearing in this article (including but not limited to individual stocks, comments, forecasts, charts, indicators, theories, any form of expression, etc.) is for reference only, and investors must be responsible for any investment decisions they make independently. Furthermore, any opinions, analyses, and forecasts in this article do not constitute any form of investment advice to the reader, nor do they bear any responsibility for any direct or indirect losses caused by the use of this article’s content. Investors should carefully read the “Fund Contract,” “Prospectus,” “Fund Product Information Summary,” and other legal documents of the fund to understand the risk-return characteristics of the fund and choose products that match their risk tolerance. Past performance of the fund does not indicate future performance, and the performance of other funds managed by the fund manager does not guarantee the performance of this fund. According to the fund manager’s assessment, the risk level of the bank ETF Hua Bao, chemical ETF Hua Bao, and fintech ETF Hua Bao is R3 - medium risk, suitable for balanced (C3) and above investors; the risk level of the ChiNext AI ETF Hua Bao is R4 - medium-high risk, suitable for aggressive (C4) and above investors. The appropriateness matching opinions should be based on the sales institution. Sales institutions (including direct sales institutions of the fund manager and other sales institutions) conduct risk assessments of the above funds according to relevant laws and regulations, and investors should pay close attention to the appropriateness opinions issued by the fund manager. The appropriateness opinions from various sales institutions are not necessarily consistent, and the risk level evaluation results of fund products issued by fund sales institutions cannot be lower than the risk level evaluation results made by the fund manager. The differences in the fund’s risk-return characteristics and risk levels in the fund contract arise from different considerations. Investors should understand the risk-return situation of the fund and carefully select fund products according to their investment objectives, time horizons, investment experience, and risk tolerance while assuming risks themselves. The registration of the above funds by the China Securities Regulatory Commission does not indicate any substantive judgment or guarantee regarding the investment value, market prospects, and returns of this fund. Fund investments must be made with caution.

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