Preface

On September 25, the Chinese A-share market saw a modest rise in early trading, with the growth enterprise market index climbing over 2%, marking a new 3.5-year high. Other significant indices like the Shenzhen Component Index and the China Securities Regulatory Commission 50 also hit multi-year highs. In a noteworthy move, CATL surged by nearly 5% in the morning, overtaking Kweichow Moutai in market capitalization.

Lazy bag

Key market movers, CATL's market cap ascendency, and price hikes in the non-ferrous metals sector highlight the potential for strategic investment opportunities.

Main Body

In the course of early trading on September 25, the A-share market of China experienced a slight uptick as prominent indices reported gains. The entrepreneurial board index stood out with a remarkable increase of over 2%, establishing a record high not seen in 3.5 years. Indices such as the Shenzhen Component Index, Science and Technology Innovation Board 50, and the CSI 300 followed suit by reaching levels unprecedented in recent years.

The trading volume of the market exhibited a moderate expansion trend. Within the market, sectors such as non-ferrous metals, gaming, telecommunications equipment, and e-commerce recorded notable gains, while livestock farming, household appliances, engineering machinery, and banking sectors witnessed declines.

Most notably, the shares of CATL surged nearly 5% in the morning session, resulting in a market capitalization surpassing that of Kweichow Moutai, representing a significant milestone.

Non-ferrous metal prices rose comprehensively in the early hours, with the sector index opening at a high and soaring over 2%, surpassing the previous day's all-day volume halfway through the one-day trading session. Wanda shares opened with a limit-up and retained that position for the second consecutive day, achieving an 8-year high in stock price. Top gainers in the sector included Zhongzhou Special Materials, Bei Tong Copper, Tongling Nonferrous Metals, among others.

Various sectors including rare metals, industrial metals, energy metals, and new metal materials experienced broad-based upswings. Companies such as Luoyang Molybdenum, Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube, Electric Alloy, and Ganfeng Lithium recorded prominent escalation in stock prices.

The futures market witnessed a similar uptrend with non-ferrous metal products, where the leading contract for copper futures soared over 3% to hit a new peak for the year. Nickel, lead, tin, zinc, and aluminum futures also reported significant gains.

According to data from Business Society, the spot price of cobalt surged from 170,000 yuan/ton at the beginning of the year to the latest 280,000 yuan/ton, illustrating a 60% escalation. In response to market dynamics, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), capturing over 70% of global cobalt production, imposed a cobalt export ban aimed at uplifting prices. The latest policy developments by the DRC's Strategic Mineral Market Surveillance and Control Agency (ARECOMS) indicate that the export ban will only be lifted on October 16, transitioning to a more refined annual export quota system.

Shipment cycles extending from the DRC to China last approximately 3 months; hence, post-lift announcements made on October 16 will only create effective supply by the first quarter of 2026. Therefore, a shortage in domestic cobalt supply is projected to persist.

The burgeoning industries of humanoid robots and low-altitude economy have been fueling the demand for rare earth elements, consequently driving up the pricing of such products. More specifically, data from Baichuan Yingfu states that the annual increase for praseodymium oxide reached over 58%, while neodymium oxide rose by over 62%, praseodymium-neodymium metal by over 56%, and praseodymium-neodymium oxide by over 58%.

CITIC Construction Investment suggests that the rise in metal prices can be attributed not only to the Federal Reserve's approach towards easing monetary policies but also to domestic reforms that aim to optimize production factors and improve market forecasts, promoting better profitability across various production stages.

Furthermore, a comprehensive surge was noted in the gaming sector, with stock indices reaching new heights unseen in the past 8 years. Companies within the index uniformly showed gains, with Kunlun Wanwei, Star Entertainment, and Glacier Network leading the charge. Gibbett, ST Watch, and other stocks achieved record highs.

Sub-industries including cloud gaming, short-form gaming, Tencent concept, and Metaverse also registered strong upward movements, with companies such as Huanyu Century, Chinese Literature, Yidian World, and New Land outperforming.

On September 24, the National Press and Publication Administration unveiled the approval information for domestic online games in September 2025, with 145 new approvals for domestic games and 11 for imported games. To date, 1275 game edition numbers have been issued this year, marking a 25% year-over-year increase. September represents the third month of the year with over 150 game edition numbers issued. Notable products from listed companies include Glacier Network's "Troops Deployment," Kaiying Network's "Black Cat Sheriff: Guarding," Giant Network's "Endless Night," and more.

Additionally, the export of games witnessed impressive growth. The Ministry of Commerce reported that in 2024, the total cultural trade volume in China reached 1.4 trillion yuan, with sectors rich in digital elements like online games and online audio-visual content standing out. The scale of these segments exceeded 370 billion yuan, with faster growth rates compared to traditional trade.

The China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association's Game Committee released an industry report revealing that revenue from China's independent game development overseas reached $18.557 billion in 2024, registering a 13.39% increase year-over-year and accounting for 11% of the global market share. In the first half of the year alone, China's self-developed games generated $9.501 billion in revenue abroad, up over 11% from last year.

Open-source securities suggest a sustained cyclical uptrend in the gaming industry, exceeding market forecasts due to matched supply and demand dynamics. The sector's current valuation-cost ratio remains attractive, encouraging continued investment in the gaming sector, with a focus on core new and evergreen games.

Key Insights Table