Stock market. Photo:VCG

The China Securities Index Co (CSI) on Monday formally launched the CSI A500 Index, a new stock index that embraces leading firms from emerging sectors, aiming to better represent China's high-quality growth and offer options for investors seeking medium- to long-term exposure to China's economy and stock market.

The index will track 500 large-cap, highly liquid shares across diverse sectors, aiming to capture the overall performance of the most representative listed companies in each sector, according to the company's statement.

The index features a well-balanced industry mix by including leading companies from more emerging sectors, with industrials, information technology, communication services and healthcare collectively accounting for about 50 percent of the blend, per the statement.

This distribution reflects the index's focus on manufacturing strength and dynamic emerging sectors. 

Compared to the CSI 300 Index, which has a heavy weighting in bank stocks, their share in the new A500 Index is capped at 10 percent to maintain industry balance, analysts said.

The launch of the new index reflects the rising share of new quality productive forces in the Chinese capital market amid the country's pursuit of high-quality economic growth. 

The company noted that it will provide a complete picture of this growing trend and offer investors a variety of benchmarks and investment options.

Beyond large-cap companies, the CSI A500 Index includes many growth-oriented and emerging players, particularly in sectors such as information technology and biopharmaceuticals, to help channel funds toward the cultivation of new quality productive forces.

Global Times