Shanghai Composite
000001.SS
Key Statistics
About Shanghai Composite
By Liveworldmarket Editorial Team · Last reviewed 6 July 2026
Shanghai Composite — China's A-Share Benchmark
The Shanghai Composite Index (SSEC) tracks all stocks listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange — both A-shares (RMB-denominated, primarily domestic-investor accessible) and B-shares (USD-denominated, foreign-investor accessible) — across more than 2,000 individual constituents. Despite its broad scope, the Shanghai Composite is dominated by large state-owned-enterprise (SOE) banks (ICBC, Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank, Bank of China), energy companies (PetroChina, Sinopec), industrial heavyweights (China Railway, China Communications Construction), and increasingly the new-economy semiconductor and EV-supply-chain names that listed on the STAR Market (Shanghai's tech-focused board) from 2019 onwards.
The Shanghai Composite is what most retail investors think of when they say 'the Chinese stock market'. However, it is only one of several Chinese equity benchmarks: the Shenzhen Component Index (Shenzhen Stock Exchange), the CSI 300 (the 300 largest Shanghai + Shenzhen A-shares combined — preferred by institutional asset managers), the ChiNext (Shenzhen's growth board), and the STAR 50 (Shanghai's tech board) all serve as alternative views of Chinese equity performance.
History & contract origins
The Shanghai Composite was launched on 15 July 1991 with a base value of 100. The Shanghai Stock Exchange itself reopened on 26 November 1990 after a 41-year closure following the 1949 Chinese Civil War. The index crossed 1,000 in May 2000, peaked at 6,124 in October 2007 (the apex of the great pre-GFC Chinese equity bubble), crashed to 1,706 by November 2008 — a 72% drawdown in just over a year. The next major bubble peaked at 5,178 in June 2015, followed by another 49% drawdown to August 2015.
Since 2018 the Shanghai Composite has been confined to a relatively narrow 2,400 - 3,700 trading range, reflecting tight Chinese-government macro management, mixed property-sector dynamics, and persistent US-China geopolitical risk. The index broke 3,400 briefly in October 2024 after Chinese stimulus announcements but retreated soon after. Volatility has compressed compared to the 2007-2015 boom-bust era.
Trading hours & session layout
Shanghai Stock Exchange runs a two-session structure with a 90-minute midday break. In IST:
| Pre-open auction | 06:45 IST |
| Morning session open | 07:00 IST |
| Morning session close | 09:00 IST |
| Lunch break | 09:00 - 10:30 IST |
| Afternoon session open | 10:30 IST |
| Afternoon session close | 12:30 IST |
| Closing auction | 12:27 - 12:30 IST |
Holiday calendar (typical annual closures)
Listed below are the major scheduled closures for the underlying exchange. Exact dates shift year-to-year — always verify against the exchange's official calendar before holding overnight positions across a holiday boundary.
| Holiday | Typical date |
|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1 January |
| Chinese New Year (7-day Golden Week) | Variable — late January or February |
| Tomb-Sweeping Festival | Around 4-6 April |
| Labour Day (5-day holiday) | 1-5 May |
| Dragon Boat Festival | Variable in June |
| Mid-Autumn Festival | Variable in September-October |
| National Day (7-day Golden Week) | 1-7 October |
How to read this tape
Three key lenses for reading the Shanghai Composite. First, the PBoC (People's Bank of China) liquidity stance: reverse repo operations and reserve-requirement-ratio (RRR) cuts can drive 3-5% Shanghai moves within days. Second, the property sector: Country Garden, Vanke, Poly Developers and similar names anchor the broader China narrative; sharp moves in property-developer credit spreads usually telegraph Shanghai Composite direction. Third, foreign-investor flows via Stock Connect (the Hong Kong - Shanghai linkup): northbound flows are a high-quality real-time signal of foreign-investor conviction.
Volatility in the Shanghai Composite is structurally lower than other major emerging-market benchmarks because of capital controls and active government smoothing operations — including direct buying by 'national team' state institutions during sharp drawdowns. Treat unusual stability as a possible market-engineering signal, not as a genuine fundamental signal.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Shanghai Composite and CSI 300?
Shanghai Composite = all SSE-listed stocks (~2,000+). CSI 300 = 300 largest A-shares across SSE and Shenzhen, professionally curated by China Securities Index Co. The CSI 300 is what institutional Chinese-equity ETFs typically track (e.g. ASHR in the US, 3188.HK in Hong Kong). Shanghai Composite is the headline media benchmark.
Can foreign investors trade Shanghai-listed stocks?
Yes, via Stock Connect (Shanghai-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong links) which allows foreign access to A-shares through Hong Kong brokers. Direct A-share trading from outside China requires Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) status. Most retail foreign exposure is via ETFs.
Why is the Shanghai Composite often described as 'state-controlled'?
Because Chinese regulators directly intervene during stress events — through 'national team' state-fund buying, IPO suspensions, short-selling restrictions, and circuit-breaker rules. This produces lower headline volatility but creates structurally distorted price discovery.
How does Shanghai correlate with Hang Seng?
Daily correlation is around 0.7 — fairly high. The two indices diverge when Hong-Kong-specific or Hong-Kong-listed-China-tech specific factors dominate (e.g. China internet regulatory crackdowns affected Hang Seng more than Shanghai because internet names are primarily Hong-Kong-listed, not Shanghai-listed).
What time does the Shanghai market open in IST?
07:00 IST for the morning session; closes at 12:30 IST after the afternoon session.
Related markets
Editorial article. Information only — not investment advice. Read our Risk Disclaimer before acting on any market data shown here.