Sigma Lithium announced the delivery of 150,000 tonnes of high-purity lithium fines (with 1% lithium oxide) at the Port of Vitoria, Brazil, at a price of US$140 per tonne, with an additional 350,000 tonnes available for optional sale at market prices. The company stated that the successful commercialization of this low-grade lithium fines is enabled by the Greentech Plant’s dense media separation technology, allowing customers to recover over 60% through reprocessing into high-grade lithium concentrate (lithium oxide content above 4%). In addition, Sigma Lithium has resumed production of high-grade lithium concentrate, triggering prepayments under a US$96 million production-backed revolving facility, secured by 70,500 tonnes of high-grade lithium concentrate to be supplied in 2026.

• Sigma Lithium announces the sale of an additional 100,000 tons of high-purity lithium ore fines based on the SMM lithium concentrate price, at a price higher than the previous sale. • The company confirms that mine restart activities are progressing as planned and are expected to be completed by January 2026, consistent with its announcement on January 13, 2026. • Sigma Lithium strongly refutes recent media reports that inaccurately described an administrative procedure initiated by Brazil's Ministry of Labor and Employment regarding the company's waste piles as an "operational ban," labeling such reports as "fake news," and states it has notified relevant authorities. On January 23, Sigma Lithium announced the sale of another 100,000 tons of high-purity lithium ore fines. In its statement, the company reiterated that the remobilization of contractor equipment and personnel at the mine site is progressing according to plan and is expected to be completed in January 2026. The company firmly denied recent media reports that mischaracterized an administrative procedure initiated by the Ministry of Labor and Employment as an "operational ban," calling them "fake news." Regarding speculative reporting by some media based on this procedure about the safety of the company's waste piles, Sigma Lithium clarified that such claims are completely false and emphasized that this administrative procedure does not constitute a material event. High-Purity Lithium Ore Fines Sales Details The transaction was conducted based on the Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) lithium concentrate price, equivalent to an adjusted net price of USD 140 per ton for each 1% Li₂O content (the current SMM price quotation for 1.35% Li₂O content is USD 195 per ton). Sigma Lithium pointed out that the revenue from these high-purity fines sales represents a "green dividend" for its shareholders, made possible by the company's investment in environmental "cutting-edge technology" at its Greentech Plant. This technology enables dry-stacking of tailings and allows for the recovery of lithium by selling high-purity fines. Consequently, Sigma Lithium possesses one of the most environmentally sustainable lithium processing facilities in the industry, integrating dry-stacking, 100% water recirculation, zero use of toxic chemicals in lithium processing, and 100% renewable power supply. Clarification Regarding Inaccurate Media Reports Sigma Lithium has recently been the subject of multiple inaccurate reports. The company stated that this is part of an organized, funded online defamation campaign that has repeatedly disseminated false, inaccurate, and misleading information about the company and its management. The latest reports containing false statements about the Ministry of Labor and Employment's administrative inquiry into the company's waste piles and their safety align with the tactics of this ongoing "fake news cyber-smear campaign": approximately one month after the inquiry's initiation and merely two days after the company's positive operational update on January 13, 2026, several "paid-writer" style online media outlets suddenly published a flood of defamatory articles claiming the company had been shut down by the Ministry or even the "Brazilian Government." These allegations were primarily published by certain Brazilian online media outlets that publish sponsored content and were subsequently republished by some international mainstream online media and news agencies lacking rigorous fact-checking practices. This defamation campaign led to significant volatility in Sigma Lithium's share price on January 16, with trading volume exceeding four times the Nasdaq daily average and the stock price dropping approximately 30%, potentially benefiting short-sellers. The company has reported the matter to relevant authorities, including FINRA (under the U.S. SEC). The Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment initiated an administrative inquiry regarding the company's waste piles in mid-December, following a routine health and safety inspection. During this inspection, the Ministry acknowledged the company's outstanding safety record—over two years without a lost-time injury. Sigma Lithium's management believes that this inquiry did not, at its initiation nor does it currently, constitute material information requiring disclosure, and it does not affect the company's operations, including the ongoing mine restart plan. The company's restart plan is expected to sustain approximately 19,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Jequitinhonha Valley region. This objective aligns closely with the purposes of the Brazilian Ministry of Labor and Employment, the Brazilian Government, and Sigma Lithium. Sigma Lithium's commercial success significantly enhances Brazil's leadership in critical minerals, positioning the country as a key player in the global supply chain for Li₂O materials produced in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner, thereby supporting the energy transition.

The market fluctuated and rebounded throughout the day, with the ChiNext Index leading the gains. Trading volume on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges reached 1.22 trillion yuan, a decrease of 252.2 billion yuan compared to the previous trading day. On the futures market, hot topics rotated rapidly, with more stocks rising than falling. Over 3,500 stocks across the market advanced. In terms of sectors, the IP economy concept remained strong throughout the day, with multiple stocks such as Enlight Media hitting the daily limit. The stablecoin concept strengthened again, with stocks like GCL New Energy Holdings and Hundsun Technologies hitting the daily limit. The chemical sector remained active, with stocks like Jinniu Chemical hitting the daily limit. On the downside, the football concept experienced volatile adjustments, with Gongchuang Lawn approaching the daily limit down. By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.35%, the Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.41%, and the ChiNext Index rose 0.66%. Sector-wise In the sector, stablecoin concept stocks strengthened further in the afternoon, with stocks like Insigma Technology, Tiansun Technology, Hundsun Technologies, Hengbao, China Finance Online, and Oceanpayment hitting the daily limit. Stocks like Lakala and Feitian Technologies rose over 10%. On the news front, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Paul Chan Mo-po recently wrote that after the Stablecoin Ordinance comes into effect, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will process license applications as soon as possible to allow eligible applicants to commence their businesses. Additionally, Walmart, the largest retailer in the US, and Amazon, the largest e-commerce platform in the US, have recently been exploring the possibility of issuing stablecoins in the US. This, combined with the continuous surge in Circle, a stablecoin concept stock listed on the US stock market, has also catalyzed positive sentiment for A-shares. However, after the overall volume surge in the stablecoin sector, it remains noteworthy whether there will be sufficient capital inflows to support the sector tomorrow. If the sector can maintain its upward momentum or complete a transition from divergence to consensus within the day, its short-term position may be further strengthened. Conversely, if it returns to consolidation after a sentiment peak, it should be viewed from the perspective of topic rotation, with a focus on front-line core stocks at that time. The IP economy concept remained strong throughout the day, with stocks like Enlight Media, GaoLe, Cuihua Jewelry, Yuanlong Yatu, and Dazzle Fashion hitting the daily limit. Stocks like Rastar Group, Jinghua Laser, Kingwin Laser, and Bona Film Group led the gains. On the news front, on the IP side, Labubu has gone viral globally, with the overseas expansion of domestic cultural IPs exceeding expectations. Industry insiders commented that its popularity is another vivid manifestation of Chinese creativity and innovative products gaining global recognition. Huachuang Securities remains bullish on the high-growth development of China's IP industry and the progress of cultural exports in the long term. From a market perspective, the overall position of IP economy concept stocks has already risen significantly after the hype. Therefore, amid intensifying market divergence, fluctuations in related stocks during the trading day may be more pronounced. However, as long as the medium-term trend remains intact, the overall risk is relatively controllable. In addition, the market's recent speculation on the IP economy has gradually extended to sub-sectors such as film and television, gaming, and even 3D printing. Therefore, attention can still be paid to the rebound opportunities of newly strengthened stocks in lower-tier sub-sectors. Regarding individual stocks From the perspective of individual stocks, although short-term sentiment showed some recovery today, the feedback from high-level consecutive limit-up stocks remained relatively average. As of the close, only Yuanlong Yatu remained among the stocks with more than two consecutive limit-ups today. However, stocks like Beikong Technology, Nanhua Futures, Yiming Pharmaceutical, and Hengbao Co., although unable to maintain consecutive limit-ups, still managed to sustain a strong upward structure after breaking the streak. Therefore, in terms of the current speculative style, funds are no longer confined to pure consecutive limit-up strategies but are engaging in trend-based speculation combined with industry logic. On the other hand, the number of stocks with two consecutive limit-ups today increased to 16, mainly focusing on sectors such as oil and gas, IP economy, stablecoins, and chemicals. Therefore, which stocks can stand out in the future will also be a key focus, as the themes behind them may still hold certain rebound opportunities. Market Outlook Analysis The market rebounded with fluctuations today, with all three major indices closing in the green and more stocks rising than falling. This reflects that, after last Friday's high-volume adjustment, the market still possesses considerable momentum. However, it is worth noting that today's trading volume shrank significantly (a single-day decrease of over 250 billion yuan). Combined with the recent week's trend of "volume increases during declines and shrinks during rebounds," the market will need to confirm a renewed strength by breaking above the 5-day moving average with increased volume. From the perspective of the futures market, as repeatedly emphasized recently, the current hot topics continue to rotate rapidly, making it difficult for the market to form sufficient buying momentum. Therefore, to further enhance the profitability of the futures market, a more defined leading theme is needed to elevate the market's potential. Market News Focus 1. Goldman Sachs Turns Bullish Again: Global Funds Returning to China, Favoring China's "Top Ten" Stocks According to a report by CLS on June 16, Goldman Sachs' Chief China Equity Strategist, Kenneth Lau, recently released a research report titled "The Return of Chinese Private Enterprises: The Tide Has Turned." Lau pointed out that driven by various macro, policy, and micro factors, the medium-term investment outlook for Chinese private enterprises is improving. Goldman Sachs also emulated the "Magnificent Seven" of U.S. stocks and listed China's "Top Ten," which are the ten Chinese private publicly listed firms that Goldman Sachs particularly favors. They are Tencent, Alibaba, Xiaomi, BYD, Meituan, NetEase, Midea, Hengrui Medicine, Trip.com, and Anta. The combined market capitalization of the aforementioned ten companies reached US$1.6 trillion, accounting for 42% of the MSCI China Index's weight, with daily trading volume reaching US$11 billion. Goldman Sachs analysts forecast that the earnings of the "Big Ten" will increase by 13% (compound annual growth rate) over the next two years, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 16x. The "Big Ten" will collectively embody the latest economic themes in China, including AI/technology development, "going global," new consumption trends, and enhancing shareholder returns. Additionally, Liu Jinjin specifically noted that investing in private enterprises does not mean excluding state-owned enterprises—Goldman Sachs reiterated its preference for a combination of "high-quality" Chinese state-owned enterprises and shareholder returns. 2. National Bureau of Statistics (NBS): Industrial Added Value Above Designated Size Grew 5.8% YoY in Real Terms in May Caijing News on June 16: Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that in May, the industrial added value above designated size grew 5.8% YoY in real terms. On a MoM basis, the industrial added value above designated size increased by 0.61% in May compared to the previous month. From January to May, the industrial added value above designated size grew 6.3% YoY.

On June 10, CATL officially announced that it has started the mass production and delivery of its next-generation, high-capacity energy storage cell—the 587Ah cell.

Amid the spectacle of Trump and Musk's public feud, many Wall Street traders have not forgotten that there is another major macroeconomic event on the horizon tonight: the US May non-farm payrolls data... According to the schedule, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the May non-farm payrolls data at 8:30 PM Beijing time tonight. Over the past few months, US economic data, particularly the "hard data," has consistently demonstrated resilience. Despite ongoing concerns about policy uncertainty, the number of layoffs has remained low, and business activity has remained stable. However, many industry insiders are concerned that this situation may soon change. With the implementation of widespread tariff measures, multiple sets of economic data released by the US government this week have gradually shown signs of a slowdown. This has led many traders to place increasing importance on tonight's May non-farm payrolls report, attempting to identify signs of weakness in the labour market to gauge the timing of a US Fed interest rate cut. So, what are the market expectations for tonight's non-farm payrolls? What should investors be aware of in advance? And how will the US financial markets perform tonight? According to the median forecasts compiled by industry economists, the number of new non-farm jobs added in May is expected to slow significantly to 125,000 from the previous month, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 4.2%, and wage growth is also expected to slow slightly on a YoY basis. Below are the latest median forecasts from Wall Street for the main indicators and key sub-indicators of the May non-farm payrolls compared with the previous month: The US seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls for May are expected to increase by 125,000, compared with the previous value of 177,000; The US unemployment rate for May is expected to be 4.2%, unchanged from the previous value of 4.2%; The US labour force participation rate for May is expected to be 62.6%, unchanged from the previous value of 62.6%; The US average hourly earnings for May are expected to increase by 3.7% YoY, compared with the previous value of 3.8%; The US average hourly earnings for May are expected to increase by 0.3% MoM, compared with the previous value of 0.2%. In contrast to the above mainstream forecasts, CLS has also compiled some key points to note for tonight's non-farm payrolls: ① There are significant differences in investment banks' forecasts for the non-farm payrolls The estimates for tonight's non-farm payrolls range from a high of +190,000 to a low of +75,000; ② "Whisper numbers" circulating in the market have declined as the data release date approaches Whisper numbers are unofficial and unpublished forecasts circulating among Wall Street professionals, often disclosed to VIP clients of brokerage firms. Currently, the whisper number forecast for non-farm payrolls has dropped to 110,000 people. ③ A series of leading indicators ahead of the non-farm payrolls data have generally underperformed Part of the reason for the decline in the aforementioned "whisper number" is clearly the poor performance of a series of leading indicators for non-farm payrolls released earlier this week, ahead of tonight's non-farm payrolls night. In particular, the ADP employment data on Wednesday and the initial jobless claims data on Thursday were extremely dismal. According to a report released by US payroll processing company ADP on Wednesday, as signs of weakness emerged in the labour market, job growth in the US private sector nearly stalled in May, hitting the lowest level in more than two years—only 37,000 jobs were added that month, far below the market expectation of 110,000. A discrepancy of as much as 5 Sigmas between the reported figure and market expectations is extremely rare. This also marked the lowest monthly employment figure released by ADP since March 2023. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that, for the week ending May 31, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims rose by 8,000 to 247,000, higher than the market expectation of 235,000 and reaching the highest level since 2025. In addition, the employment sub-indices in the ISM surveys presented a mixed picture overall. Although the ISM manufacturing employment index increased slightly this month, it remained below the 50 mark, while the employment situation in the services sector improved, with job growth returning to expansion territory. ④ Tonight's US Department of Labor report will correct many data points from the April non-farm payrolls report The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) had previously issued a notice on its official website on Tuesday, indicating that it would correct "minor errors" in many data points from the April non-farm payrolls report when releasing the May non-farm employment report on Friday. The notice stated, "Due to minor errors in weights resulting from the introduction of a redesigned Current Population Survey (CPS) sample, some estimates for April 2025 will be revised on June 6, 2025." However, while past non-farm payrolls data will be corrected, major labour market sub-indices such as the unemployment rate, labour force participation rate, and employment-to-population ratio will remain unaffected. ⑤ Expectations for an interest rate cut ahead of the non-farm payrolls data have increased somewhat As reported by Caixin earlier this morning, due to the poor performance of multiple sets of US economic data on Wednesday, market expectations for an interest rate cut have rapidly increased. Currently, the market has fully priced in the expectation of two interest rate cuts by the US Fed this year. Of course, this expectation for an interest rate cut is actually at a rather sensitive juncture. The well-known financial blog website Zerohedge has analyzed that any upside surprise in non-farm payrolls data could lead to another market reversal—no longer expecting two interest rate cuts within the year, while any downside surprise could trigger concerns about an economic recession and impact risk assets. ⑥ How will non-farm payrolls data affect financial markets? In the forward-looking forecasts of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase teams, both generally expect that the better the non-farm payrolls data is tonight, the more favorable it will be for the market; on the other end, JPMorgan Chase's Andrew Tyler team believes that if the data falls below 100,000, it could potentially end the current bull market in U.S. stocks... Below are the five scenarios forecasted by the JPMorgan Chase team: ① Non-farm payrolls exceed 170,000: This is the first tail-risk scenario. A figure of 170,000 can to some extent be considered as hiring demand driven by demand boost or seasonal contingencies. If employment further reaches 250,000 people, it may be seen as the economy reaccelerating, with the trade war at least not having a substantial impact on the labour market, thereby forcing the bond market to reprice for higher yields and eliminating the one or two interest rate cuts that the market has already priced in. The probability of this scenario occurring tonight is 5%, and the S&P 500 index will rise by 0.5%-2.5% as a result. ② Non-farm payrolls are between 140,000 and 170,000: This would be the economy's "Goldilocks scenario." The probability of this scenario occurring tonight is 25%, and the S&P 500 index will rise by 1.5%-2% as a result. ③ Non-farm payrolls are between 115,000 and 135,000: This is also the current mainstream market expectation. Even at the lower end of this range (115,000), it would be sufficient to sustain the current market rally, but attention should be paid to the unemployment rate trend. If the unemployment rate rises to 4.3%, the intraday gain of the S&P 500 index may converge to the lower end of the estimate for this scenario (0.25%), while also indicating that the unemployment rate may accelerate its climb at a rate of 0.1-0.2 percentage points per month, potentially worsening after the full impact of the trade war becomes apparent. However, it should be noted that given the almost weekly changes in trade policies, any forecast is subject to uncertainty. The probability of this scenario occurring tonight is 40%, and the S&P 500 index will rise by 0.25%-1% as a result. ④ Non-farm payrolls are between 100,000 and 115,000: When non-farm payrolls data falls below 100,000, the market will face a real test—most people will view it as an inevitable signal of a recession. The unemployment rate and wage growth also affect the outcome in this range—the worst-case scenario in this range is that the data only reaches 100,000, the unemployment rate rises to 4.3% or 4.4%, and wages decline. Overall, there is a 25% probability of this scenario occurring tonight, with the S&P 500 index expected to move between a 1.25% decline and a 0.5% increase. ⑤ Non-farm payrolls data is below 100,000. This is the second tail-risk scenario, which could potentially end the current US bull market. Economic recessions are a typical cause of bull market endings, and data below 100,000 would put the entire market on "recession alert." There is a 5% probability of this scenario occurring tonight, with the S&P 500 index expected to decline by 2%-3%. JPMorgan Chase concluded, "Current market risks remain skewed to the upside, as we believe the market is in a 'good news is good news' macro environment. Positioning suggests investors are net short, expecting a trade war to eventually lead to an economic downturn; some believe the US is heading toward a recession or even stagflation, while the US Fed will remain on hold. Additionally, if the deficit-expanding tax/budget bill is passed, it will deplete the US fiscal reserves to combat a recession or stagflation. However, our tactical view is more measured, as we believe economic resilience will persist in the near term." Coincidentally, Goldman Sachs currently makes a similar "good data is good news, bad data is bad news" prediction regarding the impact of tonight's non-farm payrolls data on US stocks. Goldman Sachs itself forecasts 110,000 for tonight's non-farm payrolls. Data significantly below expectations could lead to a 1.5% decline in the S&P 500 index, while data significantly exceeding expectations could drive US stocks up by over 1%.

In recent years, the significant fluctuations in lithium prices have subjected enterprises across the industry chain to a rollercoaster of experiences, encompassing both the "sweet and bitter" aspects of the world.