Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Iran’s Supreme National Security Council deputy secretary Ali Bagheri Kani confirmed that senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey — the three members of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement — will meet Iranian officials in Tehran on October 26 to discuss regional issues, Iranian state television reported. The visit marks the first such high-level contact among the four countries since the defense pact was signed.

TREE NEWS reports: Hong Kong stocks closed mixed on the session, with the Hang Seng Index up 0.51% and the Hang Seng Tech Index down 0.36%. Energy names led gains: PetroChina rose about 6%, Sinopec gained about 4% and CNOOC climbed more than 3%.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Commerce on [date] released a draft of Special Provisions on the Protection of Chinese Trade Secrets for public comment, setting out countermeasures against foreign entities found to have misappropriated them. The draft would let the ministry restrict or ban such entities’ China-related goods, technology and services trade, bar new investment in China, deny entry to personnel and transport, revoke work and residence permits, and impose fines scaled to the severity of the case.

TREE NEWS reports: European equities opened mixed on the day, with the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.07%, Germany’s DAX up 0.28% and France’s CAC 40 up 0.60%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.17%. The split open left the region’s benchmark gauges little changed overall as investors weighed the session’s start.

TREE NEWS update: French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 1,435 people were arrested across France during demonstrations over the weekend, and that curfews will remain in place in the coming days. Nunez said the social unrest is unlikely to subside in the short term and the situation is not expected to change significantly soon. Specific curfew measures will be decided by local prefects in consultation with mayors, he said on October 26.

TREE NEWS update: The Hainan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Hainan Provincial People’s Government issued a document on building an eco-friendly free trade port, pledging to strictly curb the blind launch of high-energy, high-emission, high-pollution and low-level projects. New, modified or expanded high-energy and high-emission industrial projects must implement equal or reduced carbon emission replacement, and new projects should prioritize advanced processes and pollution control technologies.

TREE NEWS update: Hainan’s provincial government issued a policy on building an eco-friendly free trade port, setting a target for new energy vehicles to make up at least 70% of new car additions by 2027 and steadily advancing a 2030 ban on fuel car sales. The plan also calls for accelerating offshore wind and the Changjiang nuclear project and supporting green data centers and base stations.

TREE NEWS update: The Hainan Provincial Party Committee and Hainan Provincial Government issued a directive on building an eco-environmentally friendly free trade port, setting a 2030 goal for key industries and industrial parks to initially form green, low-carbon, circular development models. By 2035, the province aims for world-leading ecological quality and resource efficiency, with notable progress in ‘cool city’ construction.

TREE NEWS update: The Saudi-led coalition struck military targets inside Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on the morning of the 26th, describing the action as a response to repeated attacks by the group. The statement gave no details on the locations hit or the results of the strikes.

TREE NEWS update: French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said 1,435 people were arrested nationwide during protests over the weekend, adding that the situation is not expected to change significantly in the coming days and that curfews in several areas will remain in place. He said the October 24 demonstrations were “generally under control” with no serious incidents, though violence against security forces remains “very serious.”

TREE NEWS update: Iran’s armed forces will deliver a “devastating response” to any aggressor, the country said. No further details, including the timing or target of the threatened response, were provided. The declaration comes amid heightened regional tensions.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing that the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus should play a positive role in strengthening dialogue, mutual trust and cooperation among regional countries. China opposes any force using public platforms for private purposes, hijacking ASEAN or stirring up trouble, Guo said, responding to a question on the ADMM-Plus.

TREE NEWS update: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has officially released a research report titled “The Impact of the ISO/IEC 27001 Standard on Digital Trade,” the Standardization Administration of China said. The report, an ISO Research Fund project, sets out the mechanisms through which international standards support digital trade and offers a Chinese proposal for building a secure, trusted and resilient global digital trade system. It marks the first time China has undertaken an ISO Research Fund project.

TREE NEWS reports: Goldman Sachs strategists led by Timothy Moe cut their 12-month target for the KOSPI to 9,000 from 12,000, a 25% reduction, amid mounting concerns over the artificial intelligence sector. The benchmark index has fallen more than 35% from its June high, prompting the team to adopt more conservative valuation assumptions. Even after the cut, Goldman said the index still has more than 60% upside from current levels.

TREE NEWS update: Volkswagen Group China has officially obtained an L3 autonomous driving road test license in Hefei, the company said on October 26. The automaker has begun real-world road testing and data collection for L3 technology in the city. The license allows Volkswagen to test higher-level automated driving systems on public roads in Hefei.

TREE NEWS reports: French short-term government bonds rose on Wednesday, pushing the 2-year yield down 11 basis points to 3.69%. The move reflects increased demand for shorter-dated French debt, with the yield decline marking a notable session shift in the euro-area sovereign market.

TREE NEWS update: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on the 26th that Israel has no plans to launch a preemptive strike on Iran before the parliamentary election on the 27th. Katz also denied reports of a major rift between the government leadership and IDF Chief of Staff Zamir. The statement was carried by CCTV News.

TREE NEWS update: China released a progress report on its AI Capacity-Building Inclusive Plan at the Global Governance Forum in Xiong’an, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing on October 26. Guo was responding to a question on how China views the role of capacity building in global governance. No further details of the report were given.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China strictly abides by bilateral agreements and consensus with India and conducts normal patrol and control activities in the border region to safeguard territorial sovereignty and stability. Speaking at a regular press briefing, Guo said the two sides maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels and expressed hope that India will work with China to implement shared understandings and uphold peace and tranquility in the border areas.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Beijing is willing to continue working with Pyongyang to implement the important consensus reached by the two countries’ leaders and push China-North Korea relations forward. Speaking at a regular press briefing, Guo described the two countries as friendly neighbors and called maintaining, consolidating and developing bilateral relations a firm strategic policy of the Chinese party and government.