Some sectors buck downtrend, boost mood

Although China's A-share market slid in 2018, companies engaged in sectors like chemicals, electronics, machinery and medicine still managed to generate profits, according to their interim full-year financial results.

The earnings season started on Jan 21. Some 1,436 A-share companies announced their interim results by Jan 20, among which 333 made positive forecasts, according to the Shanghai-based market information provider Wind Info.

Eight companies reported that the rate of increase of their annual net profit would exceed 1,000 percent. Another 13 companies forecast a 500-percent rise or more in the annual growth rate of their net profit; 118 firms said they are about to see over 100-percent spikes, and 167 predicted a 50-percent growth in rate of increase in net profits.