Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: Saudi Aramco’s CEO said global oil inventories stand at close to 10 billion barrels as the world holds strategic stockpiles in case of crisis. About 3 billion barrels of crude supply have been lost, roughly half the crude and products normally shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, while more than 1 billion barrels of inventory have been released, mostly from onshore commercial stocks. Commercial inventories have now fallen below 6 billion barrels, most of it effectively unusable.

TREE NEWS reports: Private equity firm Boyu Capital is considering a sale of Quasar, a Singapore-headquartered medical device manufacturer, people familiar with the matter said. The firm is in preliminary talks with potential advisers on a deal that could value the company at more than $1 billion.

TREE NEWS reports: Saudi Aramco’s CEO said shipping freight rates have been hit hard and supply chains are tightening. Emergency reserves may last through one winter but cannot resolve longer-term supply problems, and pressure on the oil market will intensify until the Strait of Hormuz reopens. Restocking while meeting demand could take up to two years.

TREE NEWS reports: European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane said rising long-term interest rates will curb economic growth and make the pass-through to inflation weaker than expected. Core inflation gauges show no clear upward shift in the medium-term outlook, he said, adding that the ECB remains on a “middle path” for monetary policy where a moderate response is appropriate. A second wave of energy supply shocks would pose upside inflation risks and downside growth risks.

TREE NEWS reports: Hong Kong stocks closed higher, with the Hang Seng Index up 0.28% and the Hang Seng Tech Index up 0.62%. Zhipu gained more than 6%. PCB and optical module shares were strong, with Kingboard Laminates up nearly 12% and Cambridge Technology up nearly 8%.

TREE NEWS reports: London Metal Exchange warehouse stock data showed copper inventories down 3,750 tonnes, lead down 2,700 tonnes and nickel down 198 tonnes. Zinc stocks rose 3,225 tonnes, tin fell 45 tonnes, and aluminium was unchanged.

TREE NEWS update: Yemeni government forces attacked Houthi positions in the town of Zubab overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Sunday, October 5. The Giants Brigades, a force aligned with the government, said its first units had reached the Bab el-Mandeb area.

TREE NEWS update: European Central Bank Governing Council member and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said inflation risks are mainly tilted to the upside and that uncertainty requires a flexible response rather than inaction. He added that there are currently no clear signs that inflation has fed through to price and wage setting. Nagel spoke in his capacity as a member of the ECB’s rate-setting Governing Council.

TREE NEWS reports: Italy’s September composite PMI came in at 51, below the 53.3 expected and down from 53.6 in the previous reading. The reading still signals expansion, as it remains above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction, but at a markedly slower pace than in August.

TREE NEWS reports: Hon Hai Precision Industry reported September revenue of NT$1.16 trillion, up 38.4% year-on-year. Third-quarter revenue reached NT$3.03 trillion, a 47.1% increase from the same period a year earlier. The figures were released by the Taiwanese manufacturing giant, whose official results cover its September and third-quarter sales performance.

TREE NEWS update: The United States, Japan, the UK, Germany and 13 other countries on Oct. 4 endorsed the Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science at the 23rd annual Science and Technology in Society forum in Kyoto. The declaration calls for expanding researchers’ access to AI tools, scientific data, computing infrastructure and experimental facilities, and for reforming research funding and institutional organization, including long-term grants, fast funding, prizes and challenge competitions for high-risk, high-potential work.

TREE NEWS update: China Railway Construction Corporation said the Anhua Tunnel, the longest on the Tianlong Railway, was holed through on the 5th. The breakthrough marks major progress on Gansu province’s first regional trunk railway built with independent investment, laying a solid foundation for the line’s scheduled opening to traffic.

TREE NEWS update: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on the 5th that Spain will hold a snap general election on Nov 29. The early vote comes as Sánchez moves to dissolve parliament ahead of the scheduled term’s end. No further details on the election timetable were given.

TREE NEWS reports: European equities opened mixed on the day, with the Euro Stoxx 50 slipping 0.05% while Germany’s DAX rose 0.1%. The UK’s FTSE 100 led gains at 0.7%, and France’s CAC 40 added 0.2%.

TREE NEWS reports: Morgan Stanley chief US equity strategist Mike Wilson said 51% of Russell 3000 constituents have fallen more than 20% from their June highs, while the median S&P 500 stock sits 16% below its 52-week high. Wilson quantified the gap between index level and market breadth at roughly 12%, warning the S&P 500 could fall to about 6,800-7,300 within a month if Treasury volatility does not cool. The 10-year yield is back at 5.25% and the MOVE index has topped 100, while VIX remains below 15.

TREE NEWS reports: The spread between French and German 10-year government bond yields widened by 7 basis points to 147 basis points at the open. The move marks a fresh widening in the gap between the eurozone’s two largest sovereign debt markets.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 1,637.40 points, or 2.40%, at 69,946.86 on Monday, October 5. The index posted its gain in the session ending that day.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s 2026 National Day holiday box office, including presales, has passed 800 million yuan. Three films lead the holiday chart: “The Trace of the Detective,” “What Do You Mean, Couple,” and “Welcome to Dragon Restaurant.”

TREE NEWS reports: Middle East crude exports exceeded pre-Iran-war levels on four of the seven days in the final week of September. Exports rose to between 19.5 million and 22.5 million barrels per day on Sept. 24 and from Sept. 27 to 29, up from a daily average of 18 million bpd in the year before the Iran war, March 2025 through February. Some vessels were attacked while crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 2.4% higher at 69,946.86, while the broader TOPIX index finished up 1.3% at 4,145.22. The gains mark a session of broad strength across Tokyo-listed equities.