Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Samsung Electronics expects capital expenditure of 84.4 trillion won in 2026, compared with 52.7 trillion won in 2025, with chip capex projected at about 76.8 trillion won for 2026. The figures, disclosed in the company’s guidance, show a sharp increase in spending year over year.

TREE NEWS update: Samsung Electronics said the global chip supply shortage will intensify next year, signaling continued pressure on semiconductor availability. The company did not provide further details in the statement. The warning comes as demand for memory and logic chips remains elevated across data centers, devices and AI infrastructure.

TREE NEWS reports: FTSE China A50 index futures opened 0.15% lower on the latest trading session, extending a 0.06% decline in the previous night session. The early move reflects modest selling pressure on the China large-cap benchmark at the open.

TREE NEWS reports: Fuel oil and bitumen main contracts rose more than 3% at the open of Chinese commodity futures trading, while propylene, polyester staple fiber, plastics and bottle chip gained over 2%. Lithium carbonate fell more than 4% and caustic soda dropped over 2%.

TREE NEWS update: Samsung plans to announce its shareholder return plan by the end of January and to pay 30 trillion won in cash dividends in the third quarter. The company disclosed the timetable without specifying further details of the program. The dividend figure and the late-January deadline are the key numbers investors will watch.

TREE NEWS reports: Margin financing balances across the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges rose a combined 2.064 billion yuan to 2.375 trillion yuan as of October 28. The Shanghai exchange’s margin balance increased 3.039 billion yuan to 1.2303 trillion yuan, while the Shenzhen exchange’s balance fell 975 million yuan to 1.14495 trillion yuan.

TREE NEWS update: South Korea’s finance minister said the government will carefully review the size of its November government bond issuance and will conduct bond buybacks if needed. The remarks signal possible adjustments to the sovereign debt calendar as authorities manage supply conditions in the domestic bond market.

TREE NEWS update: South Korea’s finance minister said the government will take immediate response measures if market volatility intensifies. The statement, reported on Thursday, signals readiness to act against turbulence in financial markets but gave no specific steps or triggers. No further details were provided.

TREE NEWS reports: Australia’s export price index rose 1.4% quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, up from a 1.1% gain in the prior quarter. The acceleration in export prices points to firmer external pricing for Australian goods over the period.

TREE NEWS update: US President Donald Trump on the 28th confirmed that Vice President JD Vance had sent a letter to the Iranian government, but downplayed its significance, saying the focus was on providing medical supplies to Iran. Asked whether he had instructed Vance to restart peace talks, Trump said “no” but acknowledged approving Vance’s contact with the Iranian side. “They need medical supplies and other help. He asked what I thought. I said, ‘If you want to do it, that’s fine,'” Trump said.

TREE NEWS update: SK Hynix said its DRAM and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) production is effectively sold out for the next three years through 2029, with customer demand exceeding its current capacity by more than twofold, CEO Kwak Noh-Jung said on an earnings call. The company forecast memory supply shortages will persist until at least 2030 and plans to sharply raise capital expenditure and capacity in 2027. SK Hynix also scrapped the planned U.S. IPO of subsidiary Solidigm.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened 0.27% higher, while South Korea’s Kospi Composite opened up 0.08%. The two benchmark indexes started the session in positive territory.

TREE NEWS update: China is set to issue or is currently issuing local government bonds. The notice did not specify the size, timing or purpose of the issuance. Local government bonds are a key financing tool for regional infrastructure and public projects.

TREE NEWS reports: Foreign investors net sold ¥67.5 billion of Japanese equities in the week ended October 23, extending the prior week’s net selling of ¥66.5 billion. The back-to-back outflow marks a second consecutive week of net foreign selling in Japanese stocks.

TREE NEWS update: Dutch Prime Minister Jelte announced in The Hague on the 28th that the Netherlands will provide €500 million in military aid to Ukraine, including air defense systems and drones. The announcement followed his meeting with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Dutch government also said it will provide €1.2 billion in non-military aid over the next three years for energy, drinking water, humanitarian assistance and healthcare.

TREE NEWS update: UK Chancellor John Healey announced an additional £10 billion in economic and military aid to Ukraine during the new government’s first budget speech in the House of Commons on the 28th. The package includes loans, export finance guarantees and £500 million in emergency military funding for this winter. Healey and Prime Minister Burnham informed Ukrainian President Zelensky of the commitment earlier that day.

TREE NEWS reports: Nineteen A-share lithium battery companies had disclosed 2026 third-quarter reports as of Oct. 27, posting combined revenue of 620.37 billion yuan and combined net profit attributable to shareholders of 75.05 billion yuan. Profit recovery is spreading along a chain from copper foil to structural components to some battery makers, with copper foil firms showing multiple-fold growth on higher capacity utilization, while leader CATL’s profit growth lagged its revenue growth and tail-end firms hovered near break-even.

TREE NEWS update: The Federal Reserve kept its federal funds target range at 3.75%-4.00%, with voters Cook and Hammack dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point hike. The Bank of Canada raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.5%, its first increase in more than three years, citing the risk that high energy prices spread into other goods and services and flagging that further hikes may be needed.

TREE NEWS update: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a future Federal Reserve rate hike would not necessarily be a policy error, citing strong economic growth, after the Fed held rates steady on Wednesday following a September increase. Bessent reiterated confidence in Fed Chair Kevin Warsh and called on policymakers to keep an “open mind” on energy-shock inflation possibly being “transitory,” adding that the bond market has already done much of the tightening.

TREE NEWS reports: Hong Kong Monetary Authority has again encouraged banks to support property developers’ refinancing to prevent further setbacks in the commercial real estate market. The HKMA recently held meetings with the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong and banks to discuss debt maturities facing some developers, including mid-sized firms with assets but limited cash flow. An HKMA spokesperson said the authority communicates with banks and stakeholders from time to time but does not comment on the specifics.