Chinese retail investors are at it again! Believing that "a pullback is a buying opportunity," they have net purchased 1.25 trillion yuan since March.

The just-concluded March saw the A-share market experience a sharp correction amid the conflict between the U.S. and Iran and fluctuations in external sentiment, with the Shanghai Composite Index once dropping from a high of 4,197 points at the beginning of the month to 3,794 points, a nearly 6% decline for the month. However, just as market panic spread and northbound funds hit record outflows, a “countercurrent” from Chinese retail investors quietly emerged, becoming the most overlooked market force during this turbulent month. After analyzing fund flows, account opening data, and changes in margin trading accounts since March, reporters found that individual investors not only did not panic and flee during the decline but instead “bought more as prices fell.” Data shows that small investors’ net inflow of funds over the past month reached as high as 1.25 trillion yuan, with positive inflows every trading day; the deeper the market fell, the more aggressively retail investors bought. Meanwhile, the total number of new A-share accounts opened in March reached 4.6 million, a year-on-year increase of 50% and an 82% increase month-on-month, breaking the usual pattern that “the number of accounts opened correlates positively with profit-making effects.” Frontline brokerage personnel reported that many clients explicitly stated, “The correction is an opportunity to get in.” (Cailian Press)