ETF Weekly Review: Innovative Drugs Dominate, Gold Shows Strong Capital Attraction

Last week (March 30 to April 3), the SSE Composite Index continued to trade in a range and consolidate, with the index down slightly by 0.86% for the week. By contrast, the adjustment in growth-style indices was notably larger: the SZSE Component Index, the ChiNext Index, and the STAR 50 Index fell by 2.96%, 4.44%, and 3.42%, respectively.

At the sector level, among Shenwan’s second-level industries, pharmaceuticals distribution, precious metals, and communication equipment led the gains. The ETF market also showed a “top-dog” phenomenon dominated by innovation-drug ETFs. The Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovation Drug ETF by ICBC (工银) led the pack with a 6.9% gain, and the gains of multiple innovation-drug ETFs exceeded 6%. Among them, the weekly gains of products such as the Guotai Xingchuang Innovation Drug ETF and the Easyda Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovation Drug ETF reached 6.72% and 6.62%, respectively, showing a strong rebound momentum.

Last week, the overall ETF market across all funds saw net outflows, with net outflow totaling RMB 4.04B. Affected by market volatility, stock-type ETFs saw the largest fund outflow amount, reaching RMB 12.12B, and cross-border ETFs also recorded net outflows of RMB 1.29B. Meanwhile, bond-type, commodity-type, and money-market ETFs all achieved net inflows, with amounts of RMB 3.16B, RMB 4.48B, and RMB 1.72B, respectively.

Innovation-drug ETF “top-dog”

Last week, A-share and Hong Kong pharmaceutical stocks moved up in tandem. In Hong Kong, multiple indices such as the Guozheng Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovation Drug Index and the Hang Seng Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovation Drug Index saw gains all exceeding 9%. As a core front for innovation-drug companies going global, after experiencing deep adjustments, the Hong Kong stock sector has shown signs of stabilizing and rebounding.

Since September 2025, the Hang Seng Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovation Drug Index has pulled back by 20%, with the correction having been fully realized. On the valuation front, as the sector fell along with the broader pharma sector to near historical lows, value-for-money has become prominent. On the holdings front, the share of actively managed public fund pharma heavy allocations is at the lowest level in nearly five years, leaving ample room for future increases.

At the same time, the fundamental picture for Hong Kong innovation drugs has also improved significantly at the margin. The global resurgence in innovation-drug R&D has driven a volume increase and stable pricing in the CXO industry. The leaders posted high growth in performance and also raised their 2026 growth guidance, with abundant order backlog. In addition, the industry has entered a period of earnings realization. Companies such as Xinda, Norgine (诺诚健华，688428.SH), and several other pharma firms turned losses into profits. Innovation-drug going-global BD transactions remained active through 2026. In January to February, the authorized deal amount grew year over year by 90%, and industry growth momentum is strong.

Against the backdrop of still-uncertain macro conditions, the sector’s market performance is expected to be driven primarily by a choppy upward trend and catalyst-driven moves, with the investment logic of “CXO + innovation-drug going global + earnings realization” proving the smoothest. The ICBC (159316) Hong Kong Stock Connect Innovation Drug ETF by E Fund (易方达) precisely focuses on the core Hong Kong innovation-drug assets, covering CXO and high-growth innovation-drug targets with strong upside, and capturing earnings realization and going-global dividends. The product fee rate is among the lowest in its peer group; with low-cost one-click exposure to sector leaders, it is a preferred tool for capturing the valuation recovery and structural opportunities in Hong Kong’s innovation-drug sector.

Gold ETF strengthens as it attracts capital

Supported by a sharp rebound in international gold prices, the London gold spot price has moved above the 4600 USD per ounce threshold. China A-share precious metals sectors strengthened accordingly, with the weekly gain of the Shenwan second-level industry index reaching 4.10%. Commodity gold ETFs and gold-stock ETFs both posted solid returns, with the HuAn Gold ETF and the Yongying Gold-Stock ETF recording weekly gains of 3.52% and 3.02%, respectively.

In terms of capital flows, gold-category ETFs became the main engine for capital inflows. The HuAn Gold ETF ranked first with net inflows of RMB 2.76B. The Yongying Gold-Stock ETF also attracted RMB 899M of net inflows, ranking eighth. In addition, the Invesco Galaxy Daily Gold ETF, the Haitong Fortune City Bond ETF (海富通), and the Short-Term Financing Bill ETF (海富通) all saw net inflows exceeding RMB 2.0 billion.

Looking in contrast at the net outflow areas, the A500 Index ETF became a major type of fund selling. Among them, the A500 ETF by Southern (南方) recorded net outflows of RMB 2.1B, making it the only single ETF with net outflows exceeding RMB 2.0 billion for the entire week. The A500 ETFs by Huatai-Pine (华泰柏瑞) and by ChinaAMC (华夏) also ranked among the top ten for net outflows, with net outflow amounts of RMB 1.66B and RMB 1.17B, respectively.

In addition, the Southern STAR Bond ETF, the Huabao Tianyi ETF, the Fochang Hong Kong Stock Connect Internet ETF (富国), and the Guangfa Hong Kong Stock Connect Financials ETF (广发) also all recorded net outflows exceeding RMB 1.0 billion last week.

HuAn Gold ETF sees a 5.59B yuan surge in weekly scale

Driven by the dual forces of net asset value growth and net fund inflows, gold-category ETFs expanded significantly in scale. The HuAn Gold ETF’s weekly scale surged by RMB 5.59B, and its outstanding scale rose to RMB 116.6B. In addition, the Guotai Gold ETF, the E Fund Gold ETF, and the Boshi Gold ETF also achieved scale growth of RMB 1.68B, RMB 1.45B, and RMB 1.25B, respectively.

In sharp contrast, broad-market ETFs generally saw scale contraction. Among them, the Southern A500 ETF saw the most pronounced reduction, at RMB 2.7B. In addition, the Huatai-Pine CSI 300 ETF, the Fochang Hong Kong Stock Connect Internet ETF, the Huatai-Pine A500 ETF, and the E Fund CSI 300 ETF all saw their weekly scale shrink by more than RMB 2.0 billion each.

(Editor: Liu Chang )

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