Asian Market Sense Initial Thoughts Markets cautious ahead of the weekend as VIX in the US hits 25. China data dump on Monday also a concern.

NZX opened lower and dropped before finding support and bounced. ASX opened lower but working better.

Overview
The VIX is back above 25, which historically would be a concern but seemingly less these day. Overnihgt concerns rise about bad loans at some financial institutions, regional banks linked to private equity. That coupled with no sign of change with regard to the US government shut down and increased concerns about the US / China trade war. Overnight China’s Ministry of Commerce accused the U.S. of creating “panic” over Beijing’s controls on rare earth exports; its spokesperson He Yongqian said China was open to trade talks with the U.S. While U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer accused China of trying to control the world’s technology supply chains; which of course is exactly what the US is doing with semiconductors, but the US doesn’t see it that way!

Fed Speakers encouraged, Waller setting out that the FOMC could continue to make a number of 25bpts cuts. While Miron said he was thought a larger cut, 50 bptds, was justified. He also said economic growth for the coming year could turn on whether the escalating risks around U.S.-China trade are realized or defused.

John Bolton indicted on the same charges that Trump himself was accused off, storing secret government documents in non secure locations. Bolton was appointed by Trump but has since become a critic of Trump. That as Trump says he will meet Putin in the next couple of weeks.

The International Monetary Fund revised up Asia’s economic growth forecast on Thursday, but warned that renewed escalation in U.S.-China tensions could deal a heavy blow to a region heavily integrated in global supply chains. Economic activity in the Asia-Pacific was holding up better than expected in April, despite the region bearing the brunt of U.S. tariffs, said Krishna Srinivasan, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department.

S Korea President Lee Jae Myung’s office seeks to leverage the upcoming ASEAN summit as a venue to propose a multilateral cooperation framework addressing organized crimes in Cambodia, amid a surge in job scams and associated violent offenses targeting South Koreans. Wi Sung-lac, director of the presidential National Security Office, said in a briefing Thursday that Seoul may bring up the issue in the upcoming summit to be held in Malaysia in late October. Wi’s remarks came as South Korea’s interagency team met Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Thursday to discuss the return of about 60 Koreans detained in scam-related abductions, and to strengthen coordination in addressing job scams and crimes targeting Korean nationals. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet expressed regret over the death of a South Korean national killed by an online scam syndicate and pledged to redouble efforts to protect Koreans in Cambodia, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.

Hun also expressed concern that South Korea’s decision to raise its travel advisory for Cambodia could negatively affect investment and tourism in the country, requesting a swift downgrade, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul. However, Vice Minister Kim said the measure was unavoidable given the current situation, explaining that Seoul would consider lowering the alert once conditions improve.

Housekeeping

Thursday afternoon I was on RTHK’s The Close with host Jeff and Tariq Dennison GFM Asset Management discussing; Gold, and the UK economy.
If there is any topic you want discussed next week please message me or them via the link, which can also be used to listen to the programme
https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio3/programme/the_close

Last Monday morning I was on RTHK’s Money Talk with host Chloe Feng and Khoon Goh, Head of Asia Research at ANZ; covering topics like the Trade War and Trump’s Friday comments, the political situation/implications of the LDP’s partner splitting, out look for China data and more
If there is anything you’d like discussed next Monday then click the link below and let them know. Equally if you just want to listen to the programme, click the link
https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio3/programme/money_talk

Looking for good independent research? ERI-C.com is the place if you are looking for good Independent Research, Showcase Events, Introductions & Marketplace, Reports, blogs, trials, podcasts then click the link. https://www.eri-c.com/

It is MiFID II compliant, you can try Before You Buy, there is Research Evalution. and information can be shared across team or firm. It has Different Views at the Best Price. Buyers transact at offered prices or with vendor permission, by agreement. ERIC’s industry low commission rates - charged only to sellers - allow both buyers and sellers to realise better net pricing simulataneously. The differentiated price discovery mechanism entertains private bids and negotiation (on or offline) to broaden demand capture and liquidity. If you have any problems connecting, call or message me and I will sort your issue out.

Mark Tinker recently posted the Latest thoughts from Market Thinker - Too Many Middle Men His October thoughts on the markets. The last six months have been good but year to date less so, so what to do in the last quarter? Equities, high yield credit, good and precious metals are doing well but bonds, oil and other commodities are not. The impact of tariffs remains uncertain. AI continues to drive the narrative but as he points out ‘while many are using the old phrase “in a gold rush the guys that make the real money are the ones selling the picks and shovels”, that only really applies to Nvidia. To extend the analogy, the rest are lending money to the miners and the people making the picks and shovels, but nobody seems prepared to pay very much for the minerals themselves.’

He looks at the risks, short, medium and long term which makes for interesting reading.

Market opening indications and data due

New Zealand - No Data Scheduled
NZX opened lower and trended lower down to 13,300 before finding support. Currently -49pts -0.42% at 13,333

Australia - No Data Scheduled
ASX opened lower after futures had indicated -31pts -0.3% at 9,068 with weakness in Energy names and Crypto. Gold & Iron ore miners +VE. Financials may see weakness, but woking better Currently -26pts -0.28% at 9,043

Japan
Market to open lower
Nikkei Futures indicate -293pts -0.6% at 47,985
Chicago Nikkei Futures -85pts -0.18% at 48,050
Singapore Nikkei Futures -590pts (were -395pts earlier) -1.22% at 47,885
Yen closed US$150.41 in the US. Opening 150.21 in Asian early trades.
Data Scheduled 10 mins pre market
Foreign Bond Investment vs ¥-926.6B prior
Stock Investment by Foreigners vs ¥2479.9B prior
Later
3-Month Bill Auction vs0.4901% prior

S Korea
Futures indicate market to open higher up 64.5pts 2.56% at 2,583.87 with Tech names +VE after strong earnings from TSMC after market Thursday and good pre market data.

On Thursday stocks hit a fresh all-time high, jumping 91.09 points, or 2.49 percent, to close at 3,748.37, marking the first time it has climbed past the 3,700 mark. Trade volume was moderate at 487.77 million shares worth 17.37 trillion won ($12.2 billion). Gainers outnumbered decliners 492 to 387. Technology and auto stocks led the gains.
Institutional and foreign investors were net buyers, while retail investors were net sellers.
The Korean won had been quoted at 1,417.90 won against the US dollar as of 3:30 pm Thursday, up 3.4 won from the previous session’s close.
Data Out
Export Prices Sept 2.2% YoY vs -1% Aug (F/cast was -3.2%)
Import Prices Sept 0.6% YoY vs -2.2% Aug (F/cast was -3.8%)
Unemployment Rate Sept 2.5% vs 2.6% Aug (F/cast was 2.6%)
Due later
50-Year KTB Auction vs 2.57% prior

Taiwan - No Data Scheduled

Futures indicate market opening lower -326pts -1.17pts at 27,492 despite the strong TSMC numbers after market Thursday, with concerns about US weakness. Watch for bargain hunters later in the season.

China - No Data Scheduled
Market to open lower after Golden Dragon Index closed -75.4pts -0.91% at 8,176.99. Concerns about the trade war with the US but also ahead of key data due out on Monday morning and the start of the Fourth Plenum next week.
FTSE A50 Futures up 122.2pts 0.81% at 15,142.94
MSCI A50 Futures -9.8pts -0.38% at 2,596.40
Spot US/CNY opening -0.0011pt -0.02% at 7.1238
On Monday we get Loan Prime Rate data, House Prices, GDP Growth Rate, Industrial Production & Capacity, Retail Sales, Fixed Asset Investment (YTD) and Unemployment. It is also the start of the Fourth Plenum.

Hong Kong - No Data Scheduled
Market to open lower as ADR’s closed -88pts -0.34% at 25,800 with only SHKP in the green.
HSI Futures indicate -43pts -0.17% at 25,862
Turnover Thursday HK$275.431B vs HK$315.813B Wednesday
Short Selling Thursday 20.7% vs 20.7% Wednesday

Macau - No Data Scheduled

Singapore - Data Scheduled
Non-Oil Exports Sept YoY vs -8.9% Aug (F/cast is -3.7%)
Non-Oil Exports Sept MoM vs -11.3% Aug (F/cast is -7.2%)
Balance of Trade Sept vs $5.078B Aug (F/cast was $5.7B)

Thailand - No Data scheduled

Malaysia - Data Scheduled
Balance of Trade Sept vs MYR 16.1B Aug (F/cast is MYR
Exports Sept YoY vs 1.9% Aug (Consensus is 3.5%)
Imports Sept YoY vs -5.9% Aug (Consensus is 1.4%)
GDP Growth Rate Prelim Q3 YoY vs 4.4% Q2 (F/cast is 4.5%

Indonesia - No Data Scheduled
Could get Foreign Direct Investment Q3 YoY vs -7% Q2 (F/cast is -6%)
Indonesia’s top defense official said Wednesday that Jakarta will acquire at least 42 Chinese-made Chengdu J-10C fighter jets, marking the country’s first non-Western aircraft purchase deal. Analysts said the deal could touch regional sensitivities and have geopolitical implications.

Philippines - No Data Scheduled

Vietnam - No Data Scheduled

Cambodia - No Data Scheduled

Myanmar - No Data Scheduled

India - Data Scheduled
Bank Loan Growth 3 Oct vs 10.4% prior
Deposit Growth 3 Oct vs 9.5% prior
Foreign Exchange Reserves 3 Oct vs $699.96B prior

Europe
Eurozone - Core Inflation Rate Final, Inflation Rate Final, CPI Final
Germany - No Data Scheduled
France - No Data Scheduled
United Kingdom - No Data Scheduled

United States
Futures Dow -84pts -0.2%, S&P -0.3%, NDX -0.3%
Aftermarket
API Crude Oil Stock Change 3.524m vs 2.78m Previous (Consensus 0.12M)
Fed Balance Sheet 15 Oct $6.59T vs $6.59T
Data Due (NB planned Government data might not be released) Building Permits, Housing Starts, Export & Import Prices, Industrial Production, Capacity Utilisation, Manufacturing Production, Bakers Hughes Oil Rig Count, Net Long Term TIC Flows, Foreign Bond Investment, Overall Net Capital Flows.

HEADLINES & NEWS

AUSTRALIA
Unemployment hits four-year high, heaping pressure on RBA to cut rates

The number of Australians out of work hit 684,000 in September – nearly 13 per cent higher over the year – pushing the unemployment rate to 4.5 per cent.

BHP boss defends China ties amid iron ore ban reports. Speaking at a business event in Perth on Wednesday, BHP Australia president Geraldine Slattery said protracted negotiations with China were a “normal part of business”.

Treasury Wine Estates, the maker of Penfolds, is feeling the pain from a Chinese government crackdown on boozy banquets -VE

ABC investigates Four Corners reporter after podcast blow-up with underworld blogger. It was supposed to lift the lid on underworld crime – a podcast by a self-styled “media cowboy” and an ex-bikie turned Four Corners reporter. It lasted one episode.

Victoria’s consumer safety regulator has been forced to remove a range of off-brand Labubu-style keychain toys sold by Chinese retailer Miniso, after it failed to inform parents that they contained batteries that pose a risk to children.

JAPAN
Sanae Takaichi, the newly-elected head of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, held talks about a possible coalition with leaders of the right-leaning Innovation Party on Thursday, in a bid to clinch a prime ministerial vote expected next week. The Nikkei share average rose as prospects appeared to brighten for Takaichi to become Japan’s first woman premier, stoking bets on a revival in big spending and loose monetary policy. Takaichi’s path to succeed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had seemed all but certain until the LDP’s junior partner, Komeito, quit their 26-year coalition last week, setting off a flurry of negotiations with rival parties to select the next premier. “We’ve made significant progress in aligning our values,” said Fumitake Fujita, co-head of the Innovation Party, following the talks that also included policy chiefs of both parties.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Thursday the central bank will scrutinise various data, including information he collects during his stay in Washington, in deciding whether to raise interest rates in October. He repeated his view that the central bank will hike rates if the likelihood of its growth and price forecasts materializing increases. Global and U.S. economies are showing resilience, though the impact of U.S. tariffs will likely emerge ahead, Ueda told a news conference after attending the G7 and G20 finance leaders’ gatherings in Washington.

Global investors have called on Toyota Motor (7203.T) to provide more disclosure about its planned buyout of group firm Toyota Industries (6201.T) criticising what they said was “opaque” valuation and a failure to safeguard the interests of minority shareholders. An August 8 letter - made public on Thursday - from some two dozen asset managers including AllianceBernstein, Neuberger Berman and Schroders, is likely to deepen scrutiny of a deal that promises a landmark unwinding of cross-shareholdings and to strengthen the influence of the founding Toyoda family within the group.

Renesas Electronics (6723.JP) closed Thursday at JPY1,940.5 today (16th), rallying 8.23%. The Company announced its participation in Nvidia (NVDA.US) +0.626 (+0.348%) ‘s AI data center power system development, planning to provide semiconductors and related components with high power conversion efficiency. By using high-performance material semiconductors, the power conversion efficiency can reach up to 98%. The market expected this project to drive future results growth. Furthermore, there was news the previous day that the company is considering selling its timing department.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that he told Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato that the Trump administration expects Japan to stop importing Russian energy. “Minister Kato and I also discussed important issues pertaining to the U.S.-Japan economic relationship and the Administration’s expectation that Japan stop importing Russian energy,” Bessent said on X, after the two met on Wednesday. “Japan will do what it can based on the basic principle of coordinating with G7 countries to achieve peace in Ukraine in a fair manner,” Kato told reporters, when asked whether Japan was urged by Bessent to stop importing Russian energy.

SOUTH KOREA
Leaders of South Korea’s major conglomerates are set to attend an investment forum at US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, joining about 70 global firms invited by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, according to industry sources Thursday. It marks the first time that Korea’s top business leaders visit Trump’s private residence together, with speculations that they could also join him for a round of golf over the weekend. Samsung Electronics Chair Lee Jae-yong and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, currently in Japan participating in the Korea-US-Japan Trilateral Executive Dialogue held Wednesday, are expected to travel from Tokyo. SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won is also scheduled to depart for the US on Thursday, while LG Group Chair Koo Kwang-mo is expected to join the gathering on Friday. Hanwha Group Vice Chair Kim Dong-kwan is also expected to participate in the meeting.

Hana Financial Group said Thursday it will invest 100 trillion won ($70.5 billion) by 2030 to boost the nation’s economic growth and stabilize people’s livelihoods. To implement the initiative, the group has launched the Economic Growth Strategy Task Force, involving all affiliates — including those for banking, securities, card, capital, insurance, assets and ventures. The task force will establish a groupwide road map focusing on six key areas: corporate support amid tariff impacts, productive finance, inclusive finance, financial consumer protection, digital finance leadership and asset management innovation.

SK Enmove, a lubricant producer under SK Innovation, has partnered with Gabriel India, an automotive parts manufacturer under Indian conglomerate Anand Group, to set up a joint venture in India, officials announced Thursday. According to the announcement, SK Enmove will hold a 51 percent share of the newly established company, while Gabriel India will possess the remaining 49 percent, after they inked an agreement at the SK Seorin Building in Seoul on the previous day. Gabriel India is reportedly investing up to 480 million won ($340,000), while the amount from SK Enmove has not been disclosed.

Mirae Asset Global Investments, South Korea’s largest asset manager, announced Thursday that its US-based exchange-traded fund subsidiary Global X has surpassed 100 trillion won ($70.47 billion) in assets under management. Since its acquisition in 2018, Global X’s net assets have grown 13-fold in approximately seven years, solidifying its position as a global fund manager in the world’s largest ETF market. As of Tuesday, Global X manages 101 ETFs in the US, with total assets under management reaching 104.3 trillion won. This represents a 13-fold increase from the 14.2 trillion won at the time of Mirae Asset’s acquisition. The company has recorded an average annual growth rate of 37 percent over the past five years, significantly outpacing the US ETF market’s average annual growth rate of 20 percent during the same period.

TAIWAN
TSMC (TSM.US) has announced its financial report for 3Q25. The company’s consolidated revenue increased by 30.3% YoY to TWD989.92 billion, while its net profit after tax leaped by 39.1% YoY to a new historical high of TWD452.3, beating market expectations. Its earnings per share after tax reached TWD17.44, with GPM standing at 59.5%, up 1.7 ppts YoY. It raised its full-year revenue growth outlook, the company said it expects revenue to expand about 35 percent year-on-year, driven mainly by faster-than-expected demand for leading-edge chips for AI applications. The world’s biggest contract chipmaker in July projected that revenue this year would expand about 30 percent in US dollar terms. The company also slightly hiked its capital expenditure for this year to US$40 billion to US$42 billion, compared with US$38 billion to US$42 billion it set previously. “AI demand actually continues to be very strong. It is stronger than we thought three months ago,” TSMC chairman and CEO C.C. Wei said in an earnings call. The company expects the growth of AI accelerators to slightly surpass its previous estimate of 45 percent annually during the 2024-2029 period, Wei said. The growth would remain “dramatic and positive,” even if the Chinese market became inaccessible for customers, he said. That contrasts with Dutch tech giant ASML Holding NV who on Wednesday warned of a steep fall in its China business next year, as it booked flat net profit in the third quarter compared with the same period last year. “We expect China customer demand, and therefore our China total net sales in 2026, to decline significantly compared to our very strong business there in 2024 and 2025,” ASML chief executive officer Christophe Fouquet said in a statement. The firm announced net profits of 2.13 billion euros (US$2.5 billion), after 2.08 billion euros in the third quarter of last year. Net sales in the third quarter came in at 7.5 billion euros. ASML had forecast a figure between 7.4 billion and 7.9 billion euros.

The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said.

The Ministry of National Defense has proposed a budget of NT$8.1 billion (US$264.14 million) to procure T112 rifles as the army’s new standard infantry weapon from next year through 2029, Legislative Yuan documents showed. Lawmakers today are scheduled to begin reviewing the budget request for 86,114 of the new rifles, as well as laser illuminators and other accessories, the legislature said in a report. The T112, built on the AR-15 design and chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge, features superior precision, a high firing rate and laser illumination capabilities to enhance the lethality of the infantry, the ministry said.

A series of US government actions aimed at deepening ties with Taipei and expanding its participation in international organizations are important for regional stability and investor confidence, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham) said yesterday in a statement published on its Web site. The business group said it supports a hearing scheduled for Wednesday next week by the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, which would review several pieces of Taiwan-related legislation designed to boost its security, economic links and its role in the global community amid rising tensions with China. “The bipartisan initiatives reflect a growing recognition in Washington of Taiwan’s strategic and economic importance,” AmCham said, adding that their passage would help reinforce stability in the Indo-Pacific region and bolster confidence in the rules-based international order.

Taiwan would work with the US and Japan on a proposed cooperation initiative in response to Beijing’s newly announced rare earth export curbs, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin said yesterday. China last week announced new restrictions requiring companies to obtain export licenses if their products contain more than 0.1 percent of Chinese-origin rare earths by value. US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent on Wednesday responded by saying that Beijing was “unreliable” in its rare earths exports, adding that the US would “neither be commanded, nor controlled” by China, several media outlets reported.

CHINA
China believes the U.S. economy cannot sustain itself amid ongoing trade conflicts, prompting China to adopt a tough stance in the U.S.-China trade tensions, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. China is confident that the escalation of the trade war will jeopardize financial markets, akin to the situation following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of reciprocal tariffs in early April, sources divulged. China anticipates another stock market shock, ultimately forcing Trump to negotiate during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month. China’s tough strategy is purportedly based on Trump’s eventual compromise rather than implementing threats against China. This confidence has reinforced after the U.S.-China trade truce reached in May.

Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of the China Passenger Car Association, said China’s car market continued to grow robustly on the back of a strong macroeconomic growth in 2025 and national consumption policies. In September, the overall trend of China’s car market was sturdy, with a notable recovery in the truck and passenger vehicle (PV) sectors. Due to the slower pace of wholesale driven by retail transmission, last September’s retail was much stronger than wholesale, leading to a slowdown in PV retail this September, although the growth rate of manufacturers’ sales remained decent. The cumulative total sales of automobiles in China in 9M25 reached 24.21 million units, with a cumulative growth rate of 12%, while total automobile sales in September were 3.2 million units, up 14.1% YoY.

Apple (AAPL.US) CEO Tim Cook and other overseas corporate executives are expected to meet with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng in Beijing this week, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

Research and consulting firm Omdia announced that, in 3Q25, the smartphone market in mainland China declined by 3% YoY. The market remains in an adjustment phase, while competition among major manufacturers intensified, with shipment gaps between leading manufacturers continuing to narrow. Vivo regained the top spot with shipments of 11.8 million units (a 9% YoY decline), capturing an 18% market share. Apple (AAPL.US) continued its strong momentum from the previous quarter, with shipments of 10.1 million units (a 1% YoY increase), rising two places YoY to return to the top three (Apple’s market share is 15%). XIAOMI-W (01810.HK) shipped 10 million units (a 2% YoY decline), ranking fourth, with a 15% market share, while OPPO ranked fifth with a shipment volume of 9.9 million units. XIAOMI-W’s stock price cascaded 3.1% to close at $47.96 at midday.

HONG KONG
IPO
Haixi Pharma(02637.HK), which will be listed today, opened up 98.6% to $171.6 on gray market. Peaking/ bottoming at $200/86.4, it closed at $107.6, up 24.5% or $21.20 from the listing price, on volume of 683,900 shares and turnover of $81.86 million, according to Futu data. Excluding handling fee, the book gain was $1,060 per board lot size of 50 shares. On the PhillipMart platform it opened up 99.1% to $172 on gray market. Peaking/ bottoming at $176/105, it closed at $108.1, up 25.1% or $21.70 from the listing price, on volume of 394,000 shares and turnover of $46.1 million. Excluding handling fee, the book gain was $1,085 per board lot size of 50 shares.

On debut Thursday, YUNJI(02670.HK) opened at $142.8, up 49.4% from the listing price of $95.6. Peaking/ bottoming at $142.8/120.1, the stock closed at $120.5, up 26% from the listing price of $95.6, on volume of 3.23 million shares and turnover. of $484.09 million. Excluding handling fee, the book gain was $1,245 per board lot size of 50 shares.

Earnings
FUYAO GLASS (03606.HK) has released its results for 1-3Q ended September 2025 prepared pursuant to the PRC Accounting Standards. The company’s turnover grew by 17.62% YoY to RMB33.3 billion, while its net profit increased by 28.93% YoY to around RMB7.064 billion, with EPS at RMB2.71.

Profit Alert
Based on its preliminary estimates, PICC P&C (02328.HK) estimated its 1-3Q25 net profit to rise by around 40-60% compared to the same period in 2024. Benefiting from the rise of the capital market in 1-3Q25, PICC P&C said the optimization of its portfolio magnified the positive effect of the market upturn, resulting in a considerable YoY increase in total investment income.

Buybacks - None Announced

HSI Short Selling Thursday 22.4% vs 20.7% Wednesday
Top shorts CM Bank (3968) 56%, Bidu (9888) 47%, Chow Tai Fook (1929) 42%, MTRC (66) 40%, BYD (1211) 38%, Shenzhou (2313) 38%, Li Ning (2331) 38%, NTES-S (9999) 37%, CLP (2) 37%, CCB (939) 36%, Power Assets (6) 36%, Sunny Optical (2382) 36%, CK Asset (1113) 35%, Galaxy (27) 35%, Anta (2020) 34%, Wharf REIC (1997) 34%, China Res Mixc (1209) 33%, China Shenhua (1088) 33%, Sands China (1928) 33%, Xinyi Solar (968) 33%, Tingyi (322) 33%, SHKP (16) 33%, Hengan (1044) 33%, Lenovo (992) 32%, CKI (1038) 32%, ZTO Express (2057) 32%, Haidilao (6862) 31%, Xinyi Glass (868) 31%, Trip Com (9961) 31%, Ping An (2318) 30%, JD SW (9618) 29%, JD Health (6618) 29%, Sino BioPharm (1177) 29%, Bud APAC (1876) 28%, Li Auto (2015) 28%, CKH (1) 28%, Petrochina (857) 27%, ICBC (1398) 27%, HK & China Gas (3) 26%, Haier Smarthome (6690) 26%, HSBC (5) 26%, Nongfu Spring (9633) 26%, China Unicom (762) 25%, Henderson (12) 25%, JD Logistics (2618) 25%, China Mobile (941) 25%, BoC HK (2388) 25%, Kuaishou (1024) 25%.

WATCH
GIANT BIOGENE (02367.HK) announced that its controlling shareholder, Juzi Holding, purchased a total of 760,000 company shares in the market today (16th) for around HKD31.9 million. Following the purchase, Juzi Holding now holds about 584 million GIANT BIOGENE shares, representing 54.56% of the company’s total issued shares. Juzi Holding may further increase its shareholding in GIANT BIOGENE from time to time, subject to market conditions and applicable regulatory requirements. GIANT BIOGENE ended today at HKD41.82, down 15.31%, with a trading volume of 78.0788 million shares and a turnover of HKD3.319 billion.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced its intent to revoke the license of HKT-SS (06823.HK), a subsidiary of PCCW (00008.HK), to provide telecommunications services in the US. The FCC has issued an Order to Show Cause requesting HKT-SS to provide justification why the revocation process should not proceed. HKT-SS said that it is carefully reviewing the FCC’s Order to Show Cause issued on 15 October to fully understand the situation. It will appropriately respond to the relevant authorities and are committed to doing its utmost to fulfill its responsibilities to all stakeholders.

GUM released its Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) market analysis report for September 2025. As of September 30, the total MPF assets ascended 3.7% to HK$1.53 trillion. In terms of market share, MANULIFE-S (00945.HK) led with a 27.4% share, followed by HSBC (18.2%, 2nd) and Sun Life (SLF.US) (11%, 3rd). Together with AIA (01299.HK) (9.3%) and BOC-Prudential (7.6%) in 4th and 5th place, the top five providers collectively held over 73.5% of the MPF market. As of the end of September, in the first nine months of 2025, HSBC saw the largest increment in market share, up 0.37%, driven by net fund inflows and investment returns, the report indicated. Manulife experienced the largest decline in market share, down 0.4%, primarily due to lower investment returns.

PACIFIC BASIN (02343.HK) has announced its latest operational data. The company’s core business generated average Handysize and Supramax daily time-charter equivalent (TCE) earnings of USD11,680 and USD13,410 per day, representing a YoY change of -15% and +10% respectively, and a +6% and +10% improvement respectively on its TCEs in 1H25.

SINO-OCEAN GP (03377.HK) announced that the contracted sales for September of 2025 amounted to approximately RMB2.39 billion, representing a YoY increase of 21.9%. From 1 January 2025 to 30 September 2025, the accumulated contracted sales amounted to approximately RMB18.83 billion, marking a YoY decrease of 22%.

In September, the commercial coal production was 27.6 million tonnes, up 0.7% YoY, while coal sales amounted to 36.3 million tonnes, down 1.6% YoY, as announced by CHINA SHENHUA (01088.HK) In 9M25, commercial coal production was 251 million tonnes, down 0.4% YoY, while coal sales were 317 million tonnes, down 8.4% YoY. In addition, the Company’s gross power generation in September was 18.75 billion kWh, while total power output dispatch was 17.63 billion kWh, down 16.3% and 16.6% YoY respectively.

For the three months ended 30 September 2025, 3Q25 raw coal production amounted to 1.317 million tonnes, up 11% YoY, as announced by HIDILI INDUSTRY (01393.HK). For the nine months ended 30 September 2025, total raw coal production was 3.939 million tonnes, up 39% YoY. For the three months ended 30 September 2025, the Group recorded total clean coal production of 404,000 tonnes, remaining flat from the same period last year. For the nine months ended 30 September 2025, total clean coal production was 1.226 million tonnes, an increase of 36% YoY.

Li Ke, Executive Vice President of BYD COMPANY (01211.HK), said that the Company plans to invest in up to 300 fast charging stations in South Africa this year, and enhance its global expansion efforts. Currently, BYD COMPANY is striving to cope with the fierce price war in China. Last month, BYD COMPANY recorded its first monthly sales decline in 18 months, losing its position as China’s best-selling brand. The Company’s establishment of a dealership network in China is still in its early stages, Li added.

HSBC HOLDINGS (00005.HK) announced that a meeting of a committee of its board will be held on October 28 to consider the announcement of the earnings release for 3Q25 and the payment of a third interim dividend for 2025 on the ordinary shares. Subject to the approval and confirmation at the board meeting, the dividend will be payable on December 18 to holders of record on November 7 on the Principal register in the UK, the Hong Kong Overseas Branch register, the Bermuda Overseas Branch register and for holders of American Depositary Shares in New York.

GANGLONG CHINA (06968.HK) announced that in 9M25, it and its subsidiaries, together with its joint ventures and associates, achieved contracted sales amounted to around RMB4.052 billion.

NCI (01336.HK) announced that the accumulated gross premium income of the Company for the period between 1 January 2025 and 30 September 2025 was RMB172.7 billion, increasing by 19% YoY.

LI AUTO-W (02015.HK) has set up its overseas headquarters in Hong Kong earlier this year, leveraging the city as a strategic base to oversee its research and development (R&D), intellectual property management, and international supply chain functions globally and overseas business development, Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced. The company is now actively planning to further expand its presence in Hong Kong, grow its Hong Kong team, and plan its global development efforts.

The Tmall Double 11 shopping festival was ignited yesterday (15th) at 8 PM. Within the first hour after the platform’s pre-sale started, 35 brands manifested sales of more than RMB100 million, and 1,802 brands doubled their sales, Chinese media reported. The number of brands excelling RMB100 million in sales, the number of brands doubling their sales, and the number of active users all beat the same period last year. Brands achieving over RMB100 million in sales included sports brands such as ANTA SPORTS (02020.HK), Nike (NKE.US), and Adidas, as well as skincare brands like PROYA (603605.SH) , SkinCeuticals, and L’Oreal.

Thursday closings in EUROPE & US
DAX 0.38%, CAC 1.38%, FTSE 0.12%
European markets opened flat, FTSE traded around flat all day. DAX was similar but with more volatility and ticked higher into the close. CAC worked better all day after the new government survived a no confidence vote.

U.K. growth weak the economy expanded by a meager 0.1% in August. U.K. government borrowing costs fell on Thursday afternoon, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year gilt last seen at 4.502%. The British pound was up 0.2% against the U.S. dollar, trading at $1.340.

the Swiss government slashed its 2026 growth forecast to 0.9% as U.S. President Trump’s tariffs weighed on Switzerland’s export-heavy economy.

F&B lead the gains, Nestle’s 9.3% after it announced it would cut some 12,000 white-collar roles, with a further reduction of 4,000 jobs to come over the next two years.

Sartorius up 7.6% higher after it reported an increase in revenue and profitability. The group’s sales revenue up 7.5% in the first nine months of the year, it said.

Nordea Bank 3.5% to a record high as lending income beat expectations. Mortgage and corporate lending each grew by 6% year on year, with the former driven by growth in Sweden and a recent acquisition in Norway.

Whitbread -10% after reporting a decline in profit and growth.

Following the Dutch seizure of Chinese semiconductor company Nexperia, BMW up 0.8% said its supplier network has been impacted.

DOW -0.7%, NDX %, S&P -0.6%, Russel 2K %
US markets opened higher DOW and S&P initially traded sideways before trending lower. NDX rallied slightly but then trended lower. They then traded sideways in a tight range from mid afternoon, with a slight uptick into the close.

Selling driven by concerns about bad loans at the regional banks, ongoing concerns about the government shut down and the trade tension with China.

Factory activity in the Philadelphia area tumbled 36 points in October though employment was little changed and the six-month outlook actually improved, according to a Federal Reserve survey Thursday.

Regional banks Zions -13% and Western Alliance -11%. Zions on taking a sizable charge because of bad loans to a couple borrowers. Western Alliance after alleging a borrower had committed fraud. The banking industry has been on edge lately following the bankruptcies of two auto industry-related companies that have raised concerns about loose lending practices, especially in the opaque private credit market.

Ether largely traded below its key resistance level of $4,000 on Thursday as investors digested a spate of US/China trade war developments and attempted to recover from a record liquidation event that battered the digital assets market. Paxos, the blockchain partner of PayPal, mistakenly minted $300 trillion worth of the online payment giant’s stablecoin on Wednesday in what the company called a “technical error.” Market watchers had spotted the enormous injection of the PayPal PYUSD stablecoin on Etherscan — a block explorer and analytics platform for the Ethereum blockchain.

Earnings

Snap-on 3.5% after third-quarter earnings topped expectations, helped by a pick-up in demand from auto parts companies and repair shops. Snap-on earned $5.02 per share on revenue of $1.19 billion. Analysts were expecting the company to earn $4.64 per share on revenue of $1.16 billion, according to FactSet.

United Airlines -5.6% on Wednesday forecast higher-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter after a rocky start to 2025. The carrier expects to earn between $3 and $3.50 a share for the last three months of the year, compared with analysts’ estimate of $2.86 a share. United has been expanding its flying capacity, while its rivals have scaled back some of their growth plans after a glut of flights weighed on fares this year. The airline increased capacity 7% in the third quarter over last year. Unit passenger revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 fell 3.3% for domestic travel and 7.1% for international. Sales from its lucrative loyalty program rose 9%.

J.B. Hunt 22%, it reported Q3 earnings Wednesday after the bell that topped expectations: it earned $1.76 per share on revenue of $3.05 billion, ahead of the $1.46 EPS and $3.03 billion in revenue analysts were expecting, according to LSEG +VE other trucking names : Schneider National, Old Dominion and Saia.

Salesforce 4% reported after Wednesday’s market close, offered refreshingly rosy guidance.

Banks JPMorgan Chase -2.34%, Citigroup -3.53% Wells Fargo -2.85%, Amex -2.28%
Ecommerce Meta -0.76%, Apple -0.76%, Amazon -0.51%, Netflix -1.64%, Disney -1.64%, Zoom Comm 0.4%, Alphabet 0.07% and Microsoft -0.36%,
Tech NXP Semi 0.08%, Nvidia 1.1%, Micron 5.52%, AMD -1.69%, Skyworks 0.34%
Industrial/Discretionary Boeing -0.99%, Caterpillar 1.29%, Simon Property -0.91%, Kohl’s 2.74%, Gap -2.04%, United Airlines -5.63%, Carnival -2.18%, Wynn Resorts -1.82%,
Auto Ford -0.17%, GM -0.8%, Tesla -1.47%,
Energy Chevron -0.26%, Exxon Mobil -0.87%,
Consumer Staples Campbell Soup 1.86% General Mills -0.06%, JM Smucker 0.36%

DAILY DATA
USD weaker vs Euro but stronger vs Yen, Bitcoin -2.69% at 108,386.63, VIX 22.63% at 25.31
US T10 -7 bpts to 3.976% and T2 -8 bpts at 3.424% and T30 -5 bpts to 4.587%
OIL Brent 0.39%, WTI 0.48% on talk that India may halt Russian purchases and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.
Spot Gold 1.5% up for a fifth session, Silver 0.33%, Copper -0.36% Platinum -0.22%, Palladium -0.17%.