Core Viewpoint - The demand continues to decline and is still searching for a bottom, with various economic indicators showing signs of weakness in August [4][10]. Demand Analysis - In August, the total retail sales (社零) grew by 3.4% year-on-year, a slowdown of 0.3 percentage points compared to July, marking the third consecutive month of decline [4][10]. - The structure of retail sales reflects a continued slowdown, particularly in the "old-for-new" category, which saw a decrease from 5.0% to 4.4% in growth [4][10]. - High-frequency data indicates that retail sales of home appliances and passenger vehicles have shown negative year-on-year growth since September, suggesting significant pressure on retail growth for the remainder of the year [4][10]. Fixed Asset Investment - Cumulative fixed asset investment growth fell to 0.5% year-on-year in the first eight months, down from 1.6% in July, with a month-on-month seasonally adjusted decline of 0.2% [5][6]. - The construction and installation sector remains a major drag, contributing a 1.6 percentage point decline to fixed asset investment, which has widened by 1.0 percentage points compared to the first seven months [5][6]. - Investment in real estate, infrastructure, and manufacturing showed year-on-year declines of -12.9%, +5.4%, and +5.1%, respectively, with all sectors experiencing a decrease compared to the previous month [5][6]. Real Estate Market - The sales area of newly built commercial housing in August saw a year-on-year decline of -10.6%, worsening from -7.8% in July, while the sales amount remained stable at -14.0% [28][29]. - The funding situation for real estate companies improved slightly, with the year-on-year decline in funds received narrowing to -11.9% from -15.8% in July, but new construction and project areas continue to show significant declines [29][30]. - The overall real estate sales volume and price improvement is contingent upon effective policies that enhance supply and demand dynamics [29][30]. Production Sector - The industrial value-added and service production indices in August were 5.2% and 5.6% year-on-year, respectively, indicating a continued decline in production growth [8][10]. - The export delivery value turned negative in August, with a year-on-year decline of -0.4%, reflecting weak domestic demand and certain industry pressures [8][10]. Market Performance - Despite the weak economic data, the A-share and Hong Kong stock markets have shown strong performance, reaching new highs for the year, driven by emotional and liquidity factors [10][11]. - The market's short-term volatility is expected to increase, but the underlying bullish trend remains intact, supported by structural improvements in key industries [11][12].