But areas of the market dominated by small stocks and frequented by the country's retail investors have done surprisingly well. Scores of retail investors are dabbling in micro-cap stocks - stocks whose market capitalisation is tiny - operating under the radar of big funds and investors and their massive market-moving flows. Strategies such as Cui's stand out this year in a stock market depressed by China's wobbly economy, heightened geopolitical risks and surging overseas interest rates. Some brokerages are starting to recommend micro stocks to clients. GF Securities said in an October strategy report that buying micro stocks is part of a new investment paradigm in a stock market suffering from anaemic growth, and global decoupling risks.

---

Persons: Aly, horribilis, Joseph Cui, Cui, Yuan Yuwei, Helen Wu, Wu, Yi Huiman, Lu Deyong, Seres, Lu, Huang Yan, Jason Xue, Samuel Shen, Summer Zhen, Vidya Ranganathan, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Huawei Technologies, Regulators, Wisdom Asset, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Huawei, Security Technology, TRS Information Technology, Automotive, Seres, Securities, Shanghai QiuYang, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, United States, ChatGPT, Ningbo, Summer, Hong Kong