On July 15, China's major A-share indices opened higher across the board. Large-cap financial stocks spearheaded early declines, dragging the Shanghai Composite below the 3500-point threshold during morning trading. The index later clawed back above this psychological barrier in afternoon trading, while the Shenzhen Component and ChiNext indices accelerated their gains.

Sector performance revealed stark divergences. Computing power stocks surged with co-packaged optics (CPO) leading the charge, while property and AI agent sectors staged partial afternoon rebounds. Conversely, financials, solar energy, utilities, gold, coal, lithium mining, and baijiu producers languished. Market breadth remained negative with over 4,000 decliners.

At the close, the Shanghai Composite stood at 3505 points (-0.42%), the STAR 50 Index at 996.25 points (+0.39%), the Shenzhen Component at 10744.56 points (+0.56%), and the ChiNext Index at 2235.05 points (+1.73%). Wind data showed 1,332 advancing stocks against 4,015 decliners across Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing exchanges, with 69 unchanged.

Total turnover swelled to 1.61 trillion yuan, marking a 153.4 billion yuan increase from the prior session's 1.46 trillion yuan. Shanghai's volume hit 646.9 billion yuan (up 23.8 billion yuan), while Shenzhen recorded 965.2 billion yuan. DZH VIP data indicated 68 stocks gained over 9%, contrasted by 27 plunging more than 9%.

Financial heavyweights anchored market losses. Banking and non-bank financial names retreated sharply, with Nanhua Futures (603093) and Qilu Bank (601665) sinking over 3%. Bohai Leasing (000415), Haide (000567), Minmetals Capital (600390), Bank of Xi'an (600928), and China Zheshang Bank (601916) all dropped more than 1%. Property developers tumbled, led by Wolong Xinneng's (600173) 7% slump. Nanshan Holdings (002314), Cinda Real Estate (600657), Nandu Property (603506), and Caixin Development (000838) slid over 3%. Coal producers retreated, with Dayou Energy (600403) and Shaanxi Heimao (601015) down over 6%.

Optical modules ignited a communications sector rally amid broad weakness. New Sea Union (300502), Zhongji Innolight (300308), T&F Optical (300394), and Shijia Photonics (688313) soared beyond 10%, while TSC (300570), Runze Technology (300442), and Sinnet (300383) jumped over 7%. Auto stocks accelerated, with Yue Ling (002725), Shanghai Wujiao (600822), Weichai Heavy (000880), and Shenchi Electromechanical (603109) hitting limit-up gains. Hailian Jinhui (002537) and Yunyi Electric (300304) rose above 5%. Nvidia-concept stocks blazed, fueled by CEO Jensen Huang's confirmation of U.S. government approval for H20 chip exports to China. Shenghong Technology (300476) and China Electronics Port (001287) surged to limit-up or over 10% gains, while Shengyi Technology (600183) and Inspur Information (000977) climbed above 6%.

Pacific Securities noted the current rally's trading volume and volatility patterns differ markedly from last September's surge, suggesting gradual "two steps forward, one step back" progression. CITIC Securities anticipated structural monetary easing would dominate policy, potentially delaying rate cuts while stabilizing credit conditions near-term. Everbright Securities projected possible record highs in H2, advocating short-term focus on strong interim reports followed by three strategic pillars: domestic consumption, tech self-reliance, and dividend leaders. Orient Securities highlighted the Shanghai Composite's resilient uptrend above 3500 points, identifying oversold humanoid robotics plays as potential rebound candidates after recent leadership breakouts. Starstone Investment observed bullish momentum despite rotation among sectors, noting reasonable valuations and medium-term tailwinds from technological breakthroughs, policy support, and potential capital inflows.