Meaning:

    “打” literally means to “beat,” and “新” means “new.” With the similar meaning to the character in the phrase “打的” (take a taxi), “打” simply means to “engage in an activity.” Here, “新” refers to “newly listed stocks.” Some profit-minded stock investors who try to avert risks only chase lucrative initial public offerings, because in the Chinese stock market, newly listed shares often rise drastically on the debut trading day and perhaps the next few days. As the allocation of the IPO stocks are decided by a lottery kind of process, this is called “打新.”

    Example:

    A: 这一轮打新你中签了吗？

    Zhèyīlún dǎxīn nǐ zhòngqiān le ma?

    Did you get allocated newly listed stocks this time?

    B: 没有。运气不够好。

    Méiyǒu。Yùnqì bùgòu hǎo。

    Not really. I’m not lucky enough.