Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said threats to the central bank’s independence from President Donald Trump have so far not succeeded. Waller said he trusts Congress and the courts to protect the Fed’s independence. He did not specify what actions or pressure he was referring to.

TREE NEWS reports: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed 0.3% higher, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.79%. Among decliners, Manycore Tech dropped about 10%, Pony.ai about 9%, and property developers Agile Group, KWG Group and Shimao Group each fell roughly 9%, 9% and 7% respectively.

TREE NEWS update: Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said artificial intelligence may widen the gap in GDP per capita, without elaborating on the mechanism or the economies affected. The remark from the Fed official touches on how AI-driven productivity gains could diverge across countries.

TREE NEWS reports: The London Metal Exchange reported mixed inventory moves across its base metals on the latest day of data. Copper stocks fell 1,625 tonnes, lead dropped 3,725 tonnes and tin declined 70 tonnes, while zinc rose 5,550 tonnes and nickel added 276 tonnes. Aluminium inventories were unchanged.

TREE NEWS reports: India’s 5-year government bond yield dropped 5 basis points to 7.05%. The move lower in the benchmark tenor reflects the latest trading level for Indian sovereign debt.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, met with Khaldoun, the UAE presidential special envoy for China affairs, in Beijing on October 13, 2026. No further details of the meeting were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met Danone CEO Antoine de Saint-Affrique on October 12 to discuss the French food group’s operations in China and China-EU, China-France trade ties. Wang said China will keep expanding high-level opening-up and welcomed Danone to increase investment and R&D in the country. He cited recent consensus reached at the second meeting of the China-EU trade and investment consultation mechanism.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and National Energy Administration jointly issued the Inland Waterway New-Energy Vessel Promotion Action Plan (2026-2030). The plan calls for accelerating electric vessel use in passenger and cargo scenarios on routes within 300 kilometers and under 3,000 deadweight tons, promoting electric cargo ships for short- and medium-haul container and dry bulk transport on relatively fixed inland or specific river-sea direct routes, and electric passenger ships for riverside, lake and reservoir sightseeing and ferry services.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs jointly issued a notice to strengthen the rural elder-care worker workforce. The notice calls for developing public-welfare positions for rural elder-care workers, with post subsidies funded through relevant channels as stipulated, and encourages elder-care institutions to support such services by forming rural teams, opening facilities, setting up service stations and providing professional guidance.

TREE NEWS reports: Blackstone-backed data center operator AirTrunk has postponed its planned Singapore REIT initial public offering, originally slated for an early-October launch, to next year, people familiar said. Rising interest rates and market volatility have dampened investor demand for the $1.5 billion listing. AirTrunk had considered raising its REIT yield to about 6% from a previously expected 5.5% to attract buyers, but September’s US rate hike and the prospect of further increases kept investors cautious.

TREE NEWS update: Agricultural Development Bank of China, Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, Bank of Shanghai, Beijing Rural Commercial Bank and other Chinese lenders have jointly announced an extension of the large-value payment system’s operating hours under a People’s Bank of China arrangement. The PBOC Clearing Center said in July that from Oct 17, 2026, service hours will expand from 5×21+12 hours to 5×22.5+13.5 hours.

TREE NEWS reports: South Africa’s benchmark stock index climbed 1% on the day to 109,852.70 points. The move marks a gain for the country’s main equity gauge, though no further detail on sector or market drivers was immediately available.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s treasury futures closed with the 30-year main contract unchanged from the previous day, while shorter tenors edged higher. The 10-year main contract rose 0.06%, the 5-year main contract gained 0.04%, and the 2-year main contract added 0.01%. The session showed a modest steepening in shorter-dated government bond futures.

TREE NEWS reports: Turnover in China’s bond ETFs topped 340.7 billion yuan on the day, a record high. Short-term financing bond ETF Haitong (511360) led with 69.65 billion yuan, followed by corporate bond ETF Nanfang (511070) at 20.21 billion yuan, which set a turnover record for a second straight day. Sci-tech bond ETF Huifu (551520) traded 16.49 billion yuan and Sci-tech bond ETF E Fund (551500) 12.01 billion yuan.

TREE NEWS update: The Agricultural Development Bank of China issued four bonds totaling 16 billion yuan. A 406-day tranche raised 6 billion yuan at 1.3895%, versus an expected 1.4000%, with a bid-to-cover of 4.77 times. A 2-year 4 billion yuan tranche priced at 1.4149%, and a 7-year 4 billion yuan tranche at 1.5000% against an expected 1.6600%.

TREE NEWS reports: Combined turnover across the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges reached 1.676 trillion yuan (1675.918 billion yuan) on October 13. Shanghai accounted for 779.302 billion yuan, Shenzhen for 896.616 billion yuan, and the ChiNext board for 452.004 billion yuan of the total.

TREE NEWS reports: European equity benchmarks opened mixed on the latest session, with the Euro Stoxx 50 slipping 0.1% while Germany’s DAX gained 0.2%. The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% and France’s CAC 40 added 0.4%. The split open left the region’s major indexes without a common direction at the bell.

TREE NEWS reports: The Shanghai Composite closed up 0.1% while the Shenzhen Component fell 0.25% and the ChiNext Index slipped 0.18%, as Chinese equities recovered from a lower open on Tuesday. PCB and defense names led gains, with nearly 10 PCB stocks hitting the daily limit, while battery-chain shares fell. Total turnover reached 1.69 trillion yuan, with 2,791 stocks advancing and 2,267 declining.

TREE NEWS reports: The Shanghai Composite closed at 3800.86, up 0.10%, while the Shenzhen Component fell 0.25% to 12,353.70. The ChiNext Index slipped 0.18% to 2,958.34 and the CSI 300 dropped 0.29% to 4,275.68. The STAR 50 rose 0.03% to 1,427.18, the CSI 500 declined 0.11% to 7,085.09, and the CSI 1000 edged up 0.02% to 7,023.22.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s commodity futures market closed with LU fuel oil’s main contract up nearly 6%, pure benzene up more than 4% and fuel oil up over 3%. On the downside, methanol fell more than 6%, while soda ash, No. 20 rubber, red dates, BR rubber, natural rubber, alumina and ethylene glycol each dropped more than 2%.