Morning meeting highlights of securities companies | Clear upward signal for lithium battery energy storage sector

Yesterday, the market fluctuated and rebounded throughout the day, with the Chinext Index and the Shenzhen Component Index both rising over 1%. The total turnover of the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets was 3.14 trillion yuan. Looking at the sectors, concepts like the AI industry chain, CPO, PCB, and computing power leasing performed strongly. On the downside, industrial gases and oil and gas stocks saw adjustments. By the close of trading, the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.48%, the Shenzhen Component Index rose by 1.18%, and the Chinext Index rose by 1.45%. At today's morning meeting of securities firms, Huatai believes that China's advantageous supply in the chemical industry is highlighted by strong exports in March; China Securities Co., Ltd. believes that there is a clear upward signal in the lithium battery energy storage sector; Zhongtai believes that the snack industry is still active, with differentiated channel structures. Huatai: Strong March exports highlight China's chemical supply advantage China's chemical exports performed well in March, mainly due to factors such as reduced overseas production capacity due to the US-Iran conflict, and the cancellation of export tax rebates for some products leading to a rush in exports. With the blockade of the Hormuz Strait lasting for over two months, downstream inventory in the chemical industry chain is gradually depleting, and the acceptance of upstream high costs by end-users may gradually increase. Global restocking is expected to gradually occur, and China's chemical exports are expected to maintain strong growth. At the same time, the blockade of the strait has significantly affected energy and raw material supplies in countries like Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Europe, disrupting some of China's chemical supply chains. Favorable factors on both the supply and demand sides are expected to lead the bulk chemical industry into a new phase of prosperity in the second half of 2026. With the stability of coal chemical supplies and a wide range of sources for imported crude oil/natural gas, most parts of the industry are expected to benefit, and may continue to increase their global market share. It is recommended to focus on leading companies with global competitive advantages and relatively stable raw material supplies. China Securities Co., Ltd.: Clear upward signal in the lithium battery energy storage sector By analyzing the annual reports and first-quarter reports of the power equipment and new energy industries, the industry as a whole is transitioning from deflation to inflation. Only the large storage sector saw a year-on-year decline in income, while the rest experienced growth. For example, the solar industry achieved its first year-on-year revenue growth in 7 quarters, and the growth rate of lithium battery revenue accelerated in Q1, with product prices and shipment volumes resonating. These changes are mainly due to the emergence of new drivers of demand growth in energy storage, which have reversed the supply-demand situation or provided support against the effects of anti-inward policies. Zhongtai: Snack industry remains active, with differentiated channel structures 1) On the revenue side, the snack sector had a good start overall, with significant differentiation in the channel structure. Hypermarkets, e-commerce, and membership-based supermarkets led the industry in terms of prosperity, with hypermarkets continuing to expand and increase concentration based on a strategy of decentralization, cost-effectiveness, and high turnover. Membership-based stores have become the second growth curve due to the advantages of selected SKUs and quality-price ratio, while e-commerce companies have shifted from scale expansion to price control and cost optimization, with enterprises with a diverse channel layout showing stronger performance resilience. 2) On the profit side, high raw material prices and an increase in the proportion of low-margin channels in 2025 have suppressed the sector's net profit margin. In Q1 2026, some raw material prices started to decline marginally, leading to a simultaneous improvement in gross profit margin and net profit margin for leading companies; with the continuous release of cost dividends and optimization of channel and product structures in the future, leading companies are expected to gradually release their performance potential. This article is reproduced from "Cailianshe", GMTEight editor: Liu Jiayin.