Exchange Trading Reforms: ST Stocks' Price Limit Widened to 10%, Volume Up 5%
The Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing stock exchanges implemented a package of trading mechanism optimizations on July 6, including widening the daily price limit for risk-warning (ST) stocks on the main boards from 5% to 10%. In the first month (July 6-August 5), total turnover of risk-warning stocks reached RMB 317.8 billion, up 5.0% from the prior month, with main-board ST turnover rising 9.7% to RMB 225.4 billion. Average turnover rate climbed to 50.2% from 42.7%. After-hours fixed-price trading expanded to all A-shares and ETFs, with volumes surging 187% on ChiNext and 210% on the STAR Market.
The Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing stock exchanges simultaneously implemented a package of trading mechanism optimizations on July 6, including optimizing the closing trading mechanism for Shanghai-listed funds, expanding the scope of after-hours fixed-price trading, and adjusting the price limit ratio for risk-warning stocks on the main boards. Specifically, the daily price limit for risk-warning stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen main boards was widened from 5% to 10%, while the limits for ChiNext, STAR Market and Beijing Stock Exchange risk-warning stocks remained unchanged.
Since the new rules took effect (July 6 to August 5), liquidity in the risk-warning segment has changed. Data show that total turnover of risk-warning stocks across the market was about RMB 317.8 billion, up about 5.0% from the prior month (June 6 to July 5). Among them, main-board risk-warning stocks saw turnover of about RMB 225.4 billion, up 9.7% month on month. The average turnover rate of risk-warning stocks stood at about 50.2%, up from about 42.7% in the prior month, and about 30% of risk-warning stocks posted positive average daily moves during the period. Some individual stocks experienced notable price swings: *ST Zhuoran fell an average 3.43% per day, *ST Cuihua 3.20%, and *ST Zhengping 0.54%.
After-hours fixed-price trading has been expanded to all A-shares and exchange-traded funds, and the Beijing Stock Exchange added an after-hours fixed-price trading mechanism, with the specific implementation timing to be announced separately. In the first month of the new rules, after-hours trading volume on ChiNext reached 2.06 million lots, up nearly 187% from the previous month; on the STAR Market it was 440,000 lots, up nearly 210%; and on the Shanghai and Shenzhen main boards, after-hours volumes were 5.8024 million lots and 5.6047 million lots, respectively. The arithmetic average turnover rate for after-hours block trades rose to 0.13% from 0.10% in the prior month, an increase of 30%; the arithmetic average volume per after-hours block trade was 986,900 shares, up from 752,200 shares.
After-hours trading funds concentrated in certain individual stocks. In the first month of implementation, among the top 20 stocks by after-hours turnover, Eoptolink ranked first with about RMB 2.293 billion in after-hours turnover; Innolight was second with RMB 439 million; GigaDevice third with RMB 404 million; and Huatian Technology fourth with RMB 345 million.