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Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB)

China Investor Sentiment Cools in Q3 Despite Corporate Profit Rebound

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China Investor Sentiment Cools in Q3 Despite Corporate Profit Rebound

Beijing – September 19, 2026 -- Investors in China's A-share market turned more cautious in the third quarter of 2026 even as corporate earnings began to recover, according to the latest CKGSB Investor Sentiment Survey covering the May-to-September 2026 period.

Investors cut return expectations and stock allocation plans

Only 58.6% of respondents expected A-share prices to rise, down 5.2 percentage points from April 2026. The expected rate of return fell 1.8 percentage points to negative 0.7%. Appetite for direct stock investment weakened sharply, with the net proportion of investors planning to increase stock holdings falling 7.3 percentage points to 10.7%; the equivalent figure for equity funds dropped 1.2 percentage points to 13.4%.