智通财经网·2025-10-15 00:44Market Overview - The market experienced fluctuations with the ChiNext Index and the Sci-Tech Innovation 50 Index both dropping over 4% during the session. The total trading volume in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets reached 2.58 trillion, an increase of 221.5 billion compared to the previous trading day. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.62%, the Shenzhen Component Index dropped by 2.54%, and the ChiNext Index decreased by 3.99% [1]. Brokerage Sector Insights - Huatai Securities emphasized that now is a critical period to seize strategic repair opportunities in the brokerage sector, driven by multiple factors including policy, capital, performance, and valuation. The capital market is undergoing profound reforms, transitioning into a new phase of co-development in investment and financing. The low interest rate environment is accelerating the migration of institutional and retail funds to the equity market, continuously bringing in incremental capital. With market expansion and increased activity, brokerage firms are seeing improvements in their business performance and profitability. However, the sector's valuation remains relatively low, making this an opportune time for strategic investments [2]. Cobalt and Rare Earths Strategy - CITIC Securities highlighted the importance of strategic allocation opportunities in cobalt and rare earths. The details of the cobalt export quotas from the Democratic Republic of Congo have been finalized, with major companies like Luoyang Molybdenum, Glencore, and Eurasian Resources holding the top three quota shares at 35.9%, 27.3%, and 21.6% respectively. The total quota for 2026 and 2027 is set at 96,600 tons, which includes 87,000 tons of basic quotas and 9,600 tons of strategic quotas. Under this quota system, only about 44% of production can be exported, resulting in a reduction of over 100,000 tons. Based on estimates of 270,000 tons supply and 230,000 tons demand in 2024, the market is expected to shift from a surplus of about 70,000 tons to a shortage of about 30,000 tons, potentially driving cobalt prices higher. Additionally, the Ministry of Commerce has reinforced export controls on rare earths, further solidifying their strategic importance [3]. North Exchange Long-term Value - Galaxy Securities pointed out that the North Exchange sector possesses long-term investment value. With the introduction of the specialized and innovative index, steady progress in new stock issuances, and the realization of more merger and acquisition projects, the trading activity and market attention towards the North Exchange are expected to remain high. For investment strategies in the second half of 2025, two main directions are recommended: 1) Focus on new productive forces in the North Exchange, particularly in emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, commercial aerospace, low-altitude economy, and new consumption, where companies have "scarce" attributes in the A-share market; 2) Conduct bottom-up selection based on financial indicators, focusing on companies with high performance growth, strong R&D investment, significant capacity release potential, and strong growth prospects [4].