Over a hundred stocks hit the daily limit! Which sectors did investors miss out on for a "good start" in the Year of the Horse today?

On February 24th, the market surged then pulled back, with the ChiNext Index briefly rising over 2% intraday. By the close, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.87%, the Shenzhen Component Index gained 1.36%, and the ChiNext Index increased 0.99%.

Market hotspots rotated quickly. In terms of sectors, oil and gas stocks rose collectively, the chemical sector exploded, and the fiberglass concept repeatedly gained activity. On the downside, film and television theaters, AI applications, and other sectors led declines.

Over 4,000 stocks in the entire market rose, with 109 hitting the daily limit. The combined trading volume of the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets reached 2.2 trillion yuan, an increase of 219.4 billion yuan compared to the previous trading day.

Today, did you achieve a “good start” for the Year of the Horse in A-shares?

Data shows that by the close, although the three major indices surged then retreated, they still finished in the green; over 4,000 stocks in the market rose.

The overall A-share market saw an average stock price increase of 0.64%. From intraday trends, after a high open in the morning, the market immediately experienced a concentration of profit-taking by funds, but this brief dip turned green again shortly after.

This means that most investors should have made money today; if they timed it well, short-term traders could have “earned twice.”

However, some are happy, others are worried.

If you missed the opening “red envelope” today, it might be due to two reasons—holding positions that declined or chasing high and getting caught early.

Especially for funds that entered just a day or two before the holiday, the ultra-short-term volatility was vividly reflected today. For example, in the recent hot sectors shown in the chart below—

Those who bet on precious metals and oil & gas almost certainly made big or even explosive gains;

Choosing sectors like military industry and AI hardware, holding ETFs could yield small profits, and catching a leading stock within the sector might have led to a limit-up.

But if, just before the holiday, you accidentally held heavy positions in film and TV theaters, AI applications, consumer sectors, or even robotics, today would be quite tough.

Some netizens joked:

• Teachers promoting robots during the Spring Festival are silent now
• Teachers promoting cloud computing rental during the Spring Festival are silent now
• Teachers promoting AI during the Spring Festival have little to say now
• Teachers promoting movies during the Spring Festival have left the group

It should be noted that, although we mentioned in yesterday’s preview article that “this year’s Spring Festival movie box office has significantly declined compared to the previous two years,” this may not necessarily be the main reason for the decline before the actual trend appeared.

After all, at the close of trading, the decline in the film and TV theater sector was not as large as it later became.

But why, including this sector, do many sectors that were “fully embedded” before the holiday perform poorly today?

From a short-term perspective, some believe:

After a long holiday break, a large amount of capital is eager to act, but pre-market it’s still uncertain which sectors will rise, requiring real-time decision-making. The sectors chosen at this time tend to enjoy higher premiums or stronger profit effects.

Decision-making here includes “how to handle pre-holiday holdings” and “which strong sectors to chase”. As a result, we see:

At 9:25 AM, the three major indices opened significantly higher, with non-ferrous metals, oil & gas, and computing power sectors leading gains.

This indicates that the most aggressive and proactive funds in the market pre-selected these leading sectors. Oil & gas and non-ferrous metals have consistently been the strongest sectors during the day.

It can be understood that from 9:25 to 9:30 AM, once other active funds realized this pattern, they followed suit, “leaving the weak and strengthening the strong,” often resulting in a sharp drop in popular or high-priced stocks within sectors.

Of course, with liquidity support, the stronger the logic behind the leading sectors, the less resistance they face during upward moves.

For example, in precious metals and non-ferrous metals, data shows that during the A-share market closure (February 16-23), several varieties accumulated significant gains; thus, even if gold and silver prices fluctuate today, related sectors still have “catch-up” demand.

The oil & gas sector also benefited from the “price increase” logic. Reports indicate that due to ongoing tensions in the Middle East, global crude oil prices rose sharply during the Spring Festival, with Brent and WTI futures reaching multi-month highs.

Previously, Goldman Sachs forecasted that due to reduced inventories among OECD countries, the price of Brent/WTI crude oil in Q4 2026 was raised by $6 to $60/$56. They expect the average prices in 2027 to be $65 and $61, respectively; before December 2027, due to strong demand and slow supply growth, prices are expected to rebound to $70 and $66.

Beyond cyclical stocks like oil & gas and precious metals, today computing power industry chains and power infrastructure (grid equipment), though slightly lagging in gains, are still worth关注. Here is a summary.

In the morning, Tanfeng Communications surged significantly, rising over 13% and hitting a record high. This boosted stocks like Zhongji Xuchuang and Xinyi Sheng, as well as sectors such as CPO, PCB, and high-speed copper cable connections.

Industrial Securities stated that by 2026, the combined capital expenditure guidance of Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft cloud service providers will reach approximately $598.7 billion, a substantial year-on-year increase, with global AI computing power demand still certain. As data centers develop into ultra-large clusters, 1.6T and even 3.2T high-speed optical modules are accelerating commercialization, with breakthroughs in silicon photonics and CPO technologies; massive computing demand is driving data center expansion, increasing demand for fiber optics, liquid cooling, and other key infrastructure, maintaining high industry chain prosperity.

Regarding power grid equipment, news reports that driven by upgrades in European and American power grids, investment in emerging markets, and global AI data center construction, North American transformer supply gaps reach 30%, and distribution transformer gaps 6%. Dependence on imports is 80% and 50%, respectively. In 2025, China’s transformer exports are expected to grow 36% year-on-year, with average prices rising to $20,800 per unit, achieving both volume and price growth.

Additionally, some believe that during the Spring Festival, tech hotspots like AI red envelopes, humanoid robots, and AI interactions during the Spring Festival Gala flooded social media, with the tech wave visibly penetrating every corner of life. The backbone of all this is stable and efficient power infrastructure. As AI computing power explodes and digital economy deepens, the strategic value of power grid equipment is being redefined.

CICC pointed out that domestic power grid investment remains strong, with ultra-high voltage projects entering a period of accelerated approval and bidding since the second half of the year. They believe that the power grid is a late-cycle investment in new energy, with significant investment gaps still to be filled, and remain optimistic about continued growth in power grid investment.

(Article source: Daily Economic News)