China's mainland equities closed mixed on February 4 as investors shifted out of high‑growth technology names and into traditional cyclicals and energy plays. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.85% to reclaim the psychologically important 4,100 mark, while the STAR50 and ChiNext ended lower, underscoring an intra‑market divergence between large, state‑oriented and smaller, innovation‑heavy stocks.
Market breadth was positive in headline terms — 3,252 stocks advanced versus 2,126 decliners across the two exchanges and the Beijing Stock Exchange — but volatility was elevated, with 84 stocks rising more than 9% and 29 falling by a similar margin. Total turnover across Shanghai and Shenzhen was CNY 248.09 billion, down slightly from the previous session, suggesting selective rather than broad‑based risk appetite.
The trading tape was dominated by a surge in coal names, where a wave of limit‑ups reflected either short‑term supply concerns or speculative positioning ahead of winter demand and industrial activity. Renewable energy pockets also attracted heavy buying: the photovoltaic chain posted strong gains, with the niche of space‑based photovoltaics emerging as a clear leadership theme for the session.
Traditional consumer and financial sectors also showed resilience, as airline, property, baijiu and bank stocks featured among the top performers. In contrast, technology sectors corrected across the board — AI applications, semiconductors, compute hardware and commercial space concepts recorded notable declines, reversing some of the prior session's momentum and highlighting investor rotation out of high‑multiple growth exposures.
The day's price action points to a market negotiating risk between cyclical reflation and a reassessment of longer‑term innovation premiums. With headline indices diverging, turnover easing slightly, and sector dispersion high, investors appear to be trimming concentrated tech bets while hunting near‑term gains in commodity and infrastructure‑linked themes — a posture that could persist until clearer macro signals or policy guidance reset market direction.