Shanghai Stock Exchange launches new STAR Market index

China's Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on Tuesday launched the SSE STAR 200 Index to track the performance of companies listed on the STAR market, China's Nasdaq-style sci-tech innovation board.

The SSE STAR 200 Index selects 200 STAR market securities with small-scale market capitalization and good liquidity as index samples. Three other indexes -- the SSE STAR Earnings Quality Strategy Index, the SSE STAR Brand Name Drug Index and the SSE STAR Value 50 Strategy Custom Index -- are scheduled to be unveiled on Friday.

The Earnings Quality Strategy Index measures the performance of securities of listed companies with high earnings quality, the Brand Name Drug Index measures the performance of representative companies in the brand name drug industry, and the Value 50 Strategy Custom Index selects 50 securities with lower operating risks and valuation to measure the performance listed companies with value characteristics, according to the SSE.

Following the release of these four indexes, the STAR market will have 24 indexes tracking domestic and foreign financial products worth a combined total of nearly 160 billion yuan (about 22.4 billion U.S. dollars).

The STAR 50 Index, the STAR 100 Index and the STAR 200 Index will jointly form the market's scale-based index series, reflecting the overall performance of securities from listed companies with varying scales of market capitalization, said the SSE.

"The variety of sci-tech innovation board indexes has been constantly enriched, which can more accurately track the performance of more STAR stocks, especially stocks related to specific market segments considered as the 'new quality productive forces'. At the same time, it provides a feasible way to accommodate the diversified demands of various investors. In the long run, the injection of long-term funds will enable the capital market to better serve the high-quality development of the real economy," said Zhang Gang, chief investment adviser at Southwest Securities.

China has been accelerating the construction of index and product systems. As one of the leading exchanges globally, the SSE, in collaboration with the China Securities Index Company, has been actively enriching the index system and encouraging the development of index fund products. Currently, the combined number of SSE and CSI indexes exceeds 7,000, covering multiple asset classes such as stocks, bonds, commodities and funds, with stock indexes accounting for nearly 70 percent. The index samples span more than 20 major countries and regions worldwide, centering around the markets of Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.

Shanghai Stock Exchange launches new STAR Market index

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as investors digested a heavily divided Federal Reserve interest rate decision and continuous rise of crude oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.57 percent to 48,861.81. The S and P 500 sank 0.04 percent to 7,135.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.04 percent to 24,673.24.

Seven of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in the red. The utilities and materials sectors led the laggards, dropping 1.23 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the energy and technology sectors led the gainers, rising 2.35 percent and 0.18 percent.

Monetary policy took center stage as the Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep the benchmark interest rate target unchanged on Wednesday, holding it in a range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent. The decision was notable for its split 8-4 vote, marking the first time since 1992 that four committee members dissented.

Both headline and core inflation have been above the 2 percent target for five years and looks set to break above 4 percent next month on gasoline and air fares, so it is understandable why markets and Fed officials are nervous, wrote ING bank on Wednesday.

Oil prices spiked. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery surged 6.95 U.S. dollars, or 6.95 percent, to settle at 106.88 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery jumped 6.77 dollars, or 6.08 percent, to close at 118.03 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

On the corporate front, Wall Street's spotlight heavily focused on the technology sector, with four members of the "Magnificent Seven" -- Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft -- scheduled to report quarterly results following Wednesday's closing bell.

In other notable post-earnings movements, NXP Semiconductors and Seagate Technology Holdings soared 25.5 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively. Visa and Starbucks both advanced more than 8 percent. Conversely, SoFi Technologies dropped over 15 percent, and Robinhood Markets sank 13.24 percent during the session.

U.S. stocks mixed amid historic Fed dissent, surging oil prices