After several days of adjustments, global stock markets experienced a strong rebound today, April 1, with the A-share market following suit. Driven by popular sectors such as innovative drugs, optical modules (CPO), and copper-clad laminates, the market began a counteroffensive. Multiple related stocks, including Immunotech-B, reached the 20% daily limit-up.

Broad gains were seen across hot sectors. At the market close, the Shanghai Composite Index stood at 3948.55 points, up 1.46%; the Shenzhen Component Index closed at 13706.52 points, rising 1.70%; and the ChiNext Index finished at 3247.52 points, advancing 1.96. Most sectors ended higher, with the exception of a few previously leading sectors like petroleum and coal. Hot sectors showed widespread strength, with innovative drug-related indices taking the top two spots on the gainers' list. Representatives of technology growth, such as optical modules, optical circuit switches, optical chips, and copper-clad laminates, also followed the upward trend.

In terms of individual stocks, several related companies hit the 20% limit-up, while others reached the 10% limit-up. Stocks like Oculis also saw significant gains.

Veteran industry expert Peng Zu had previously highlighted key insights. Regarding innovative drugs, he noted that last year saw a record number of business development deals, and this year should be the period for performance delivery. Additionally, in the first three months of the year, the total value of outbound licensing transactions for Chinese innovative drugs exceeded $60 billion, approaching half of the full-year 2025 target. Catalysts include a密集 period for major international academic conferences, such as the European Lung Cancer Congress on March 25, the American Association for Cancer Research meeting on April 17, 2026, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting on May 29, 2026.

The situation is similar for mainstream sectors like optical modules and optical circuit switches. Peng Zu had already included leading companies like Oculis, which have shown sustained gains, as key tracking cases, achieving returns of nearly tenfold.

April's top stock picks have been unveiled, aligning with Peng Zu's views. Several companies in hot sectors like innovative drugs, optical modules, and copper-clad laminates have been selected as brokerages' top picks for April.

Statistics show that brokerages have recommended a total of 247 stocks as top picks for April, many of which are from these popular sectors. For instance, Zhongji Innolight is regarded as a global leader in optical modules with strong core competitiveness. According to Lightcounting data, it ranked first among global optical module manufacturers in 2023-2024. Currently, optical modules are primarily used in scale-out networks, while scale-up networks focus on connections within single nodes, traditionally using copper cables. As the number of GPUs per node increases, demands for transmission distance and bandwidth are growing, pushing copper connections toward their limits. The penetration of optical interconnection technology in scale-up networks is expected to rise further, potentially making scale-up applications a new growth driver for the company.

Notably, Zhongji Innolight is one of the most jointly recommended stocks by brokerages, with six endorsements. Another is CNOOC, also recommended by six brokerages, due to expectations of sustained high景气 in the oil and gas industry and the company's advantages in low costs and steady production growth.

Additionally, several companies in hot sectors have received joint recommendations from four or more brokerages.

The密集 disclosure period for annual reports of listed companies has begun, with many top picks having released formal reports or preliminary results. Approximately over a hundred companies have been reviewed. Overall, the April brokerage picks are predominantly high-performers, with more than 80 stocks achieving earnings growth, accounting for about 80% of the total.

Among them, many top picks not only belong to hot sectors but also lead in earnings growth. A typical example is Lead Intelligent Equipment. As a leading global provider of intelligent manufacturing solutions for new energy, the company benefited from recovering downstream demand, reporting a net profit of 1.564 billion yuan, up 446.58% year-on-year. This is a primary reason for its selection as an April top pick. Guotou Securities believes that with the high景气 of power and energy storage, the company has reached an inflection point, and profits are expected to grow rapidly. Additionally, with the clear trend toward solid-state batteries, the company, as a leader in liquid batteries with full-line capabilities, is poised to replicate its advantages and maintain its leading position.

Other April top picks with significant earnings growth include Oculis, among others. A total of 13 companies saw earnings growth exceed 100%.

(Mentioned stocks are for analysis purposes only and not intended as trading recommendations.)