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Stocks are the asset class ordinary people encounter most: A-shares, HK stocks, and US stocks — three markets, three set
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01 · Stock Basics
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Stocks are the asset class ordinary people encounter most: A-shares, HK stocks, and US stocks — three markets, three sets of rules. This chapter first explains the essence of stocks and how indexes work, then breaks down the trading rules of A-shares and of HK/US stocks separately, and closes with a complete analysis methodology running from fundamentals through valuation to pitfall avoidance.
What a stock actually is, what rights shareholders have, who participates in the market, and the journey from founding to IPO. Then meet the most important indexes (SSE Composite, CSI 300, Hang Seng, S&P 500, etc.), learn to tell dividends apart from bonus shares, capitalization issues and ex-dividend/ex-rights adjustments, and finish with one table on the essential differences among stocks, futures, and spot. The bedrock of this chapter — every rule and concept makes its first appearance here.
A practical A-share handbook: opening and closing hours, how the call auction matches orders, what exactly T+1 restricts (and how to legally trade a pseudo-T+0 with a base position), price limits and first-day rules for the main boards/ChiNext/STAR/BSE, 100-share lots and odd-lot selling, where every yuan of commission/stamp duty/transfer fee goes, how IPO subscription allocates by market value, the thresholds and mechanics of margin trading, the account types (cash/margin/Stock Connect), and what northbound funds are. Mandatory reading before buying A-shares.
Want to invest overseas? Learn the rules first: HK's T+0 round trips with T+2 settlement, no price limits but a volatility control mechanism, and the Stock Connect channel; US pre-market and after-hours sessions, T+1 settlement, circuit breakers, and fractional shares; then how to choose a broker, which funding channels are compliant, and what Chinese ADRs are. Key point: mainland capital faces heavy restrictions going offshore — compliance is always the first premise.
A three-layer breakdown of fundamentals — macro, industry, company — how to read the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement, plus key metrics such as ROE, gross margin, and debt ratio; then the right use cases and pitfalls of PE, PB, PS, dividend yield, and DCF; finally the correct use of technical and news analysis, and the traps retail investors step on most — fraud signals, buying tops, chasing small and junk stocks. Only after finishing this article do you deserve to say you "research stocks" rather than "guess direction".
Why Chinese companies trade in the US, and what exactly you own when you buy BABA/PDD: the issuance mechanics of ADRs and the role of depositary banks, the 1 ADR = N shares conversion logic, then the full history from the 2000 portal listings, the 2014 Alibaba IPO, and the 2021 regulatory storm (the Didi affair and the audit working-paper dispute) to the 2023 PCAOB agreement; followed by ADR vs ordinary-share premiums and discounts, the difference between dual primary and secondary listings, the legal risks of red-chip and VIE structures, and finally a comparison of the three access routes — US brokers, Stock Connect, QDII — plus risks unique to Chinese ADRs. Mandatory reading before buying Chinese ADRs; compliance is always the first premise.
A hands-on, US-market upgrade on top of the options basics: what the world's most active options market looks like, the practical exercise differences between single-stock (American) and index (European) Options, and how to read an option chain; then four beginner strategies worked out with real numbers — the Covered Call, the Protective Put, the Cash-Secured Put, and the Bull Call Spread; plus the US-only permission tiers (Tier 1-4), margin and tax basics, and the classic ways to die — naked-short blow-ups, lottery tickets expiring worthless, liquidity slippage. Seller risk is the focus — if you cannot read the obligations, do not invest a cent.
A practical global asset-allocation manual for ordinary investors: the SPY/VOO/IVV fee comparison, cheaper QQQ alternatives, and a one-page list of style/sector/global/bond/commodity ETFs; then the US versions of the three-fund portfolio (VTI+VXUS+BND) and the permanent portfolio (stocks + long Treasuries + gold + cash) with worked rebalancing numbers; finally DCA practice (brokers, funding, FX, the 30% dividend withholding), the math of DCA vs lump sum, and a portfolio health checklist. Hold long term at the lowest fees, the deepest liquidity, and the least hassle — do not churn.
① Stock basics (essence and indexes first)
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② A-share trading rules (the home battlefield — master it first)
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③ HK and US stocks (rules and compliance before going offshore)
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④ Stock analysis methods (tools in hand, then talk research)
股票篇 · 随堂测
3 concept questions · instant grading
Stock fundamentals — what a stock is, market participants, the IPO process, what indexes measure, dividend and share-distribution math, and a comparison of the essential differences among stocks, futures, and spot
A practical rulebook for trading A-shares — trading hours, call auction vs continuous auction, price limits, T+1, fees, IPO subscription, margin trading, and northbound funds, all in one place
HK and US stock trading rules — HK T+0 round trips with T+2 settlement, US pre-market and after-hours sessions, the VCM and circuit breakers, compliant account opening and funding, ADRs and index ETFs
Stock analysis methods — the three-layer fundamental framework, reading the three financial statements, key financial metrics, valuation tools (PE/PB/PS/dividend yield/DCF), and the three classic retail traps
ADRs and cross-border listings — depositary receipts, the full history of US-listed Chinese companies, the hidden risks of the VIE structure, cross-border listing routes, and risks unique to Chinese ADRs
A hands-on guide to US stock Options — reading the option chain, four beginner strategies with worked numbers, US permission tiers, margin and tax rules, and the classic ways to blow up
Building US and global ETF portfolios — choosing broad-base ETFs, style and sector allocation, topping up with global bonds and commodities, the three-fund and permanent portfolios, and DCA in practice
Adjusted prices and ex-dividend/ex-rights mechanics — the ex-price formula, choosing among pre-adjusted, post-adjusted, and unadjusted data, how ex-day gaps corrupt moving averages, MACD, and Fibonacci retracements, a practical checklist, and special notes for high-dividend stocks
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03 · Futures
Futures are a leverage game: they amplify gains, and they amplify destruction. This chapter walks from contract elements