A-share account openings hit 27.13 million in the first three quarters as September falls below 2 million

Shanghai Stock Exchange data showed that 1.9119 million new A-share accounts were opened in September, including 1.8997 million by individual investors and 12,200 by institutions. It was the first month this year in which new individual account openings fell below 2 million, while institutional openings stayed above 10,000 and were higher than the levels seen in January, February, April, and May. The monthly pattern this year moved from a strong start to a pullback, then another spike, followed by softer and more stable readings before cooling again. New openings peaked at 4.9158 million in January, dropped to 2.523 million in February, rebounded to 4.6014 million in March, and then fluctuated around 2.6 million from April through August before slipping to a yearly low in September. Even with the September decline, total new A-share account openings for the first three quarters reached 27.1259 million, almost matching the full-year 2025 total of 27.4369 million. According to Securities China, the September slowdown may be related to a temporary weakening in the A-share market’s profit effect.