The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to an article published by FTSE Russell, the FTSE China A50 Index constructed by FTSE Russell has continued to reflect the overall performance of the Chinese A-share market for more than 20 years since its launch in 2003, and is highly linked to the overall market. Since 2008, there have been significant changes in the FTSE China A50 Index industry structure. At the end of 2016, the financial sector weighed more than 66% of the index; by the September 2026 index review, although the financial industry was still the largest industry, its weight had dropped to 27.6%, but its dominance and concentration had declined from before. From 2016 to 2026, the weight of the technology industry increased from about 1.3% to 17.2%, an increase of 10.2 percentage points over December 2025, or 5.1 times the 2024 level.
Evolution of FTSE China's A50 Index industry exposure (by industry group), 2008 to 2026. The analysis uses annual data; the 2026 data is after the September index review. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Finance is still the industry with the largest share in the index, with technology in second place. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Historical data is annual data after rounding. The data from 2016 to 2025 reflects the index weights at the end of each year, while the 2026 data is based on the index weights of September 21, 2026. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
Relative percentage changes in index weights for various industries between 31 December 2025 and 21 September 2026. The data in the chart reflects a percentage change in the weight of the index, not the return on investment in the industry. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
From December 31, 2025 to September 2026, the industries with the largest relative decline in share were consumer goods (-35%), optional consumer goods (-21%), healthcare (-16%), and finance (-16%). The index review for the third quarter of 2026 involved adjustments to constituent stocks in the technology, consumer goods and basic materials industries, which further promoted changes in the index industry structure.
The rise in the share of the technology industry in the index reflects the evolution of the Chinese large-cap market structure. As technology companies grew relative to their market capitalization, related companies were included in the index and received higher weight, while the share of some traditional industries declined.
The share of the technology industry has increased significantly since 2024
The weight of the tech industry in the index has fluctuated over time. It remained low in the early years and dropped to 0% in 2023. It rebounded to 3% in 2024, more than tripled in 2025, and more than tripled again by September 2026. The recent increase was partly driven by changes in the index review. China Micro and Shengyi Technology, which also belong to the technology industry, were included in the index in September 2026.
Investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure and semiconductor production are supporting demand for optical communications, chip manufacturing equipment and electronic materials, and the representation of related companies in the FTSE China A50 Index is also increasing.
For investors using A50 linked products, this means that the technology industry's influence on index performance has increased in large-cap stock benchmarks covering multiple industries. Compared with the structure of the index, which focused on the financial industry in the past, this reflects that the composition of the index industry is undergoing significant changes.
FTSE China A50 Index Monthly Report Highlights (September 2026)
The FTSE China A50 Index retracted in September, and year-to-date cumulative returns have changed from positive to negative.
There is still some support for medium- to long-term performance. The three-year annualized return remains positive, while the five-year annualized return remains roughly the same.
Compared with similar indices in developed and emerging markets, the FTSE China A50 Index's valuation is still attractive, while providing a higher dividend rate.
The forward-looking indicators improved slightly in September, indicating an improvement in the basic outlook.
The return performance of various industries was divided, with the telecommunications, technology and basic materials industries leading the way, while the real estate, healthcare and consumer-related industries lagged behind.
The telecom industry has performed well and is in a high return and high fluctuation range.
The FTSE China A50 Index's return in September was lower than most similar indices in the region.