China’s stock market is making the right moves as global dynamics shift. The country is trying to fix its stock market, where a new rally is already attracting significant inflows from domestic and foreign investors. Elsewhere, major market developments include an Intel stock surge, a more competitive approach from Tesla, and the potential economic impacts of a looming La Niña weather event.
China stoking stocks
Is the tide turning in Chinese equities? In a Bloomberg article, Liu Jipeng, a securities veteran, says China’s stock market has lacked a strong focus on delivering returns to investors, with regulators and exchanges prioritising the financing side of the business. China’s leaders are under pressure to fix the stock market, with President Xi counting on domestic spending to reach the 5% economic growth goal. As such, regulators are making some improvements, but reforms have fallen short of transforming the market into one that prioritises investor returns. Over the past year, China’s top leadership has shown greater awareness of the stock market’s importance as a vehicle for wealth creation, especially amid the ongoing property slump and a fragmented social safety net, which exacerbates a sense of insecurity.
China rally
Securities Daily reported that China’s stock market rally has drawn funds from households, corporations, and overseas investors, fuelling trading activity. In the first seven months of 2025, 14.5 million new retail accounts were opened on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, a 37% year-over-year increase, according to exchange data shared by Bloomberg.
China inflows
Investors moved money back into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that buy China stocks after tensions between the world’s two largest economies eased following the announcement of a three-month trade truce that left the door open for more negotiations. Bloomberg reported that China recorded the biggest inflow across emerging markets in the week, attracting $623.8 million in inflows. The iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI-NASQ) led the market, accounting for $215 million of the investment.
Market Intel
Intel (INTC-NASQ) surged in after-market trade after SoftBank agreed to invest $2 billion in the company. Bloomberg reports that the US is said to be weighing a 10% stake that may convert $10.9 billion in Chips Act grants into equity.
AI bubble
According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, there’s a bubble forming in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Speaking to The Verge, Altman said: “Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited about AI? My opinion is yes. Is AI the most important thing to happen in a very long time? My opinion is also yes”. Altman also warned that the US may be underestimating the progress that China is making in AI.
Charged to perform
Tesla Inc. (TSLA-NASQ) has been losing ground to Chinese EV manufacturers. In an effort to win over middle-class families in China’s hyper-competitive EV market, Tesla has priced its updated, six-seat Model Y sport utility vehicle (SUV) in the same range as its Chinese rival Li Auto Inc.’s extended-range L8 model. In a post shared on Chinese social media platform Weibo, Tesla said the new variant of its top-selling model will be available for as low as 339,000 yuan ($47,182), with deliveries anticipated as early as September. Bloomberg writes that the Model Y L is roughly 15cm longer than the Model Y and is designed to accommodate a third row. The vehicle has a 751km range on a single charge, nearly the same as the performance version of the existing five-seater variant that starts from 313,500 yuan. The competitive pricing of the new variant seeks to make up for delays in more advanced Full Self-Driving (FSD) driver-assistance features.
Lose-lose for dollar
The US dollar is poised to take another substantial leg lower as pressure builds on the Federal Reserve to resume interest rate cuts, despite re-accelerating inflation, setting up a lose-lose scenario for the currency. Bloomberg reports that, taken at face value, fresh easing would imply central bankers are seriously worried that the economy is close to cracking. The pressure from President Trump’s regime for rate cuts adds to these concerns about the economy. But it also risks undermining the credibility of US monetary policy, especially because part of the apparent motivation for such calls is to reduce the amount of interest the government has to pay on its growing debt pile. That’s the second leg of the lose-lose scenario for the dollar. If the Fed stands firm because of sticky inflation, the most likely outcome is a revival of the calls for Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s ouster. That would send the dollar sustainably lower rapidly.
La Niña threat
The US Climate Prediction Center has increased the probability that La Niña will take hold across the Pacific to 58%, up from the 50% chance predicted last month that the weather-changing phenomenon will form sometime in October, November and December. La Niña can bring more drought to Southern California and crop-growing areas of Brazil and Argentina, as well as heavier rainfall to mining regions of Indonesia and northern Australia.
Incentivised digging
Bloomberg has reported that Glencore (GLENL-TRQX) applied to have two copper projects with combined capital expenditure that may top $13 billion included in Argentina’s investment incentive program.
Coping with copper
Full-year profit from BHP Group (BHPL-TRQX) fell by more than a quarter as key exports, such as iron ore and coking coal, remained under pressure from soft Chinese demand, while the company’s debt and capital expenditure increased. The world’s biggest miner posted underlying attributable profit of $10.2 billion for the year to June 30, in line with analyst estimates. BHP said a $4.4 billion slide in revenue was “primarily due to the decline in iron ore and coal prices.” The result was partially offset by rising earnings from copper. The global economic outlook “is mixed,” said CEO Mike Henry, although the company remained “confident in the long-term fundamentals of steelmaking materials, copper and fertilisers.”
Greenlighted
Following a hearing on July 22, the Competition Appeal Court has approved Vodacom’s (VOD-JSE) proposed acquisition of a 30% interest in Maziv, subject to the set of revised conditions proposed by the merger parties and the Competition Commission.
Nedbank sells Ecobank stake
Nedbank Group (NED-JSE) has entered into an agreement with Bosquet Investments to sell its 21.2% shareholding in Ecobank Transnational for $100 million.
