China stocks fall amid shift in trade, revised trading rules: analyst

The Chinese stock market closed lower on Monday, mainly due to shift in trade and the rolling out of new trading rules, said a market analyst Timothy Pope.

Chinese stocks closed lower on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.06 percent to 4,041.24 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 1.16 percent lower at 15,416.80 points.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, fell 1.77 percent to close at 3,948.86 points.

The ChiNext Index, together with the Shenzhen Component Index and other indices, reflects the performance of stocks listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Pope said regardless of the general downturn, some of the traders' shift from tech names towards cyclical stocks brought positive signs to the market.

"We did see a bit of a shift in trade on the Chinese mainland markets today, away from tech names and towards cyclical stocks. That shift had helped the Shanghai Composite Index stay positive for most of the session but it did slip into the negative just ahead of closing time. The cooler attitude to tech today had the Shenzhen Component down 1.2 percent and the ChiNext board down 1.8 percent. Instead of tech we saw gains for energy and financial stocks in the main, with the big banks and coal and oil majors contributing the most to the Shanghai index," he said.

China's stock exchanges began to follow revised A-share trading rules on Monday, which include extending after-hours fixed-price trading and unifying daily price limits for risk-alert stocks with other stocks across the main board. Pope said the changes of rules could also lead to market volatility to some extent.

"Mainland exchanges have also been rolling out those new set of trading rule changes today. In addition to some that we talked about, we have also the daily price limit for the so-called Special Treatment or 'risk-warning' stocks - companies flagged for financial trouble - has been doubled from 5 to 10 percent. That's going to affect a fairly small section of the market, around 150 stocks, but that is nearly 7 million investors. Brokerages are cautioning retail investors not to mistake the wider trading band for any sort of assessment of reduced risk, because many of these companies still face a real chance of being de-listed. Another change which took affect today was widened after-hours trading, which is now going to cover all A-shares and ETFs (exchange-traded funds), not just tech-board names," Pope said.

China stocks fall amid shift in trade, revised trading rules: analyst

Monday marks the 10th anniversary of the Y-20 heavy transport aircraft's entry into active military service with the People's Liberation Army Air Force, a milestone that has strengthened China's strategic mobility over the past decade.

The Y-20, nicknamed "Kunpeng" after a mythical Chinese giant bird, is China's first homegrown large military transport aircraft. The project of developing the Y-20 started in 2007 by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China's Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Group Co. The prototype first flew in 2013 before the aircraft's entry into service in 2016.

Since the first Y-20 joined an air force aviation unit in 2016, the "Kunpeng" fleet has operated on plateaus, over deserts, across oceans, and beyond China's borders, far transcending its original transport mission. From the initial Y-20A to the new YU-20A tanker and Y-20B variants, the aircraft's robust capabilities have played a key role in safeguarding China's vast territory.

"In future wars, whoever masters the advantage of mobility will have the control over the rhythm of the battlefield. From single-aircraft tactics to joint operations with multiple arms, from flying skills to equipment support, we continually challenge the 'limit of performance' to gain clear understanding of the fundamentals of our equipment, and to enhance man-machine integration. We are practicing to build up our winning skills of global coverage, all-weather mobility, versatile combat, and rock-solid reliability, ensuring that we can respond instantly and reach our target with precision under any conditions," said Lei Kaiquan, an air force pilot.

With the Y-20's entry into service, China's strategic airlift capacity made a leap onto the world stage, and over the last decade, its presence has become an enduring symbol of the nation's aerial ambitions.

Y-20 heavy transport aircraft in active military service for 10 years with combat strength