ETF Weekly Review: Broad-Based ETFs Welcome Nearly 10 Billion Yuan "Bottom-Fishing" Capital

Last week (March 16 to March 20), the A-share market was under pressure overall, with major indices declining across the board. The Shanghai Composite Index and Shenzhen Component Index fell 3.38% and 2.9%, respectively, while the STAR 50 Index dropped sharply by 4.03%. The ChiNext Index, however, bucked the trend and rose 1.26%, becoming one of the few bright spots in the market.

Affected by market adjustments, ETF performance was generally weak last week, with over 80% of products experiencing declines. Among the few that defied the trend and rose, the S&P Oil & Gas ETF led the gains, followed by ChiNext series ETFs, such as the Huaxia ChiNext Growth ETF and China Merchants ChiNext Large Cap ETF, both up over 2%.

Despite the overall stock ETF experiencing a net outflow of 8.803 billion yuan last week, broad-based ETFs attracted 9.284 billion yuan in net inflows. Additionally, rising risk aversion boosted the inflows into money market and bond ETFs, which saw net inflows of 3.044 billion yuan and 1.325 billion yuan, respectively.

ChiNext Series ETFs Perform Strongly Against the Trend

Last week, the Shanghai Index fell below the 4,000-point mark, closing down 3.38%. In stark contrast, the ChiNext Index not only resisted the decline but closed higher. The ChiNext Momentum Growth Index, ChiNext 50 Index, ChiNext Large Cap Index, and ChiNext Artificial Intelligence Index all finished in the green.

Specifically, ETFs such as Huaxia ChiNext Growth ETF, China Merchants ChiNext Large Cap ETF, China Merchants ChiNext Artificial Intelligence ETF, and Huatai-PbR ChiNext 50 ETF performed well, with weekly gains exceeding 2%.

Unlike the indices and ETFs mentioned above, the newly launched Battery ETF (Huaxia, 512460) charted an independent course. Although its tracking index, the CSI Battery Shares Index, declined 3.14% last week before rebounding, the ETF itself debuted on Friday (March 20) amid a sector recovery and surged 2.89%, ranking among the top weekly gainers.

Liu Wei, fund manager of the Huaxia Battery ETF (512460), told Caixin that the current new energy battery industry presents good opportunities for deployment. Not only is the energy substitution accelerating due to the escalation of Middle East tensions and soaring oil prices, but domestic new energy exports, technological upgrades in the battery industry, and multiple factors are reshaping the global energy landscape.

According to the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, in January–February 2026, China’s power and energy storage batteries exported a total of 48.0 GWh, a year-on-year increase of 24.6%. Among these, the growth rate of power battery exports was particularly impressive, with a 44.6% increase year-on-year.

In terms of technological upgrades, solid-state batteries are reaching the “critical point” of industrialization, with 2026 generally regarded as the “prototype and pilot year” for solid-state batteries. Sodium batteries, as an important supplement to lithium batteries, are emerging in energy storage and low-speed electric vehicles due to their abundant resources and low cost.

Since March, BYD has announced megawatt-level fast charging capable of reaching 70% in 5 minutes; Geely has launched megawatt-level fast charging; Chery has introduced the Swift Dragon rapid charge. As charging times are compressed to gasoline refueling levels, the last shortcoming of electric vehicles is being addressed, further boosting battery installations.

Meanwhile, overseas data centers are accelerating the abandonment of diesel generators in favor of battery backup systems. This trend opens a new growth market for domestic energy storage batteries.

Reversal of Capital Flows, Broad-Based Indices See Billions in “Bottom-Fishing”

Capital flows have shown a significant reversal. Unlike previous continuous net outflows, last week, against the backdrop of the Shanghai Index falling below 4,000 points, broad-based ETFs experienced a net inflow of 9.284 billion yuan, indicating a clear “bottom-fishing” trend. In contrast, industry and thematic ETFs saw large-scale capital withdrawals.

Among the top net inflow products, Short-term Bond ETF HFT was the only bond ETF in the market to see net inflows exceeding 5 billion yuan. The China Securities 500 ETF (South) and Huaxia CSI 300 ETF followed closely, with inflows of 4.45 billion yuan and 4.33 billion yuan, respectively.

Additionally, among the top ten products with net inflows last week, there were broad-based ETFs such as the Huaxia SSE 50 ETF, GF SSE Composite ETF, Huaxia STAR 50 ETF, and South China CSI 1000 ETF.

Conversely, previously popular chemical and non-ferrous metal ETFs experienced major net outflows. Notably, Penghua’s chemical ETF and non-ferrous metal ETF saw net outflows of 4.373 billion yuan and 3.477 billion yuan, respectively. Similarly, Huaxia’s non-ferrous metal ETF and Jiashi’s rare metals ETF also saw net outflows exceeding 1 billion yuan each.

Short-term Bond ETF HFT Reaches New High, Gold ETF Hu’an Shrinks by Over 10 Billion in a Week

In terms of scale, since March, as investors have favored relatively low-risk and highly liquid products, the Short-term Bond ETF HFT has continued to attract net capital inflows, reaching new highs. Last week, its scale increased by 5.259 billion yuan, reaching a circulation scale of 870.87 billion yuan as of March 20, setting a new record.

Additionally, products like the Shanghai Composite ETF GF and SSE 50 ETF Huaxia saw their net asset values decline last week but still grew in scale due to capital inflows, with weekly increases of 2.19 billion yuan and 1.3 billion yuan, respectively.

Among products with significant scale reductions last week, Hu’an Gold ETF led the decline. Despite a net value decrease of 7.93%, its scale shrank by 10.667 billion yuan, dropping to 1,173.55 billion yuan as of March 20.

Furthermore, under the dual pressure of net value declines and capital outflows, Penghua’s chemical ETF and South China’s non-ferrous metal ETF saw their scales shrink by 8.117 billion yuan and 7.738 billion yuan, respectively, as of March 20.

(Edited by: Wang Zhiqiang HF013)