Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index opened 0.04% lower at 23,963.41 points, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.47%. NetEase, Meituan, Xiaomi Group and JD.com each dropped more than 1% in early trading.

TREE NEWS reports: US equity funds took in $20.6 billion in the week ended September 30, a second consecutive week of net inflows, as investors kept buying into artificial intelligence and softer-than-expected inflation data eased concerns about rising Treasury yields. The prior week’s net purchases totaled $37.49 billion.

TREE NEWS update: Japan has already released its oil reserves and has no plans for further releases, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said. The statement indicates the government sees no need for additional emergency drawdowns at this time. No further details were provided.

TREE NEWS reports: The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index climbed 1% to 279.06 points. The move marks a gain for the regional benchmark covering developed and emerging markets across Asia-Pacific. No further details were disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: Taiwan’s TAIEX weighted stock index rose 2% to 49,465.19. The move marks a 2% gain for the benchmark, which tracks listed companies on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

TREE NEWS reports: FTSE China A50 index futures opened 0.22% higher, extending the previous session’s night-trading gain of 0.14%. The move marks a modestly firmer start for the China A-share benchmark’s overseas futures contract.

TREE NEWS update: Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said AI adoption could have both positive and negative effects on productivity and the labor market. He said AI is a large positive demand shock that pushes up economic activity and prices, while possibly lifting productivity and capital accumulation on the supply side. AI has boosted share prices and eased financial conditions, but heavy bond issuance by AI-related firms is adding upward pressure to long-term rates, he said, warning of correction risk if profits do not keep pace.

TREE NEWS reports: A Brazil ETF traded in Japan rose 7.6% after Jair Bolsonaro led the first round of Brazil’s presidential election. The move reflects investor reaction to the initial vote count, with the ETF’s gain marking one of its sharpest single-day advances.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s September services PMI final reading came in at 51.3, revised down from a preliminary 51.6. The composite PMI final figure was 52.3 for the month, also below the initial 52.5 estimate. Both readings remain above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index extended its intraday gain to 2%, while the broader Topix index widened its advance to 1%. The move marked a sharp session of strength for Japanese equities.

TREE NEWS update: Brazil’s federal police said on October 4 that they have opened an investigation into possible US interference in the country’s presidential election. Federal police chief André Rodrigues announced the probe, without giving further details on its scope or targets. The move marks an official inquiry by Brazilian authorities into the alleged foreign meddling.

TREE NEWS update: No candidate in Brazil’s 2026 presidential election won more than half the votes in the first round. Flávio Bolsonaro and Lula, the two top vote-getters, will advance to a runoff on October 25.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened up 1.2% on Thursday. South Korean stock markets were closed for the day. No further details on the drivers of the move were provided.

TREE NEWS reports: Australia’s TD Securities inflation index rose 0.3% month-on-month in September, slowing from a 0.5% gain in the prior reading. The annual rate held steady at 4.8% year-on-year, unchanged from the previous month’s figure. The data cover September 2023.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s housing loan interest subsidy policy is designed to direct benefits to first-time, owner-occupier buyers through targeted criteria on property price, floor area and loan type, rather than acting as broad-based stimulus. The policy’s limited applicability to high-priced big-city homes does not mean its effectiveness is diminished, as its stated goal is precision support for genuine housing demand.

TREE NEWS reports: Nikkei futures gained 1.9% in early trading, pointing to a higher open for Japanese equities. The move reflects early positioning in index derivatives ahead of the cash market session.

TREE NEWS update: Israel’s Ministry of Transport has notified foreign airlines that crew members holding single or dual nationality in 27 countries, including Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are barred from operating or riding on flights into Israel. The directive follows a recent incident in which an Omani first officer attacked a flydubai captain.

TREE NEWS reports: With 88.2% of votes counted in Brazil’s election, Jair Bolsonaro leads with 48.2% against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 43.8%. The partial count puts Bolsonaro ahead but below the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. Vote counting is ongoing.

TREE NEWS update: The US added just 29,000 nonfarm jobs in September, far below the 90,000 Wall Street expected, with unemployment edging up to 4.2%. The G7 decided to release 100 million barrels of emergency oil reserves immediately over four months, starting with a large-scale diesel投放. OPEC+ kept November output quotas unchanged, and Trump announced a “Superintelligence Task Force” naming DNI Jay Clayton as “AI czar”.

TREE NEWS reports: Investors are watching a heavy data slate on Monday, with eurozone September services PMI final readings due from France, Germany and the bloc, plus August PPI. In the US, the September S&P Global services PMI final and the ISM non-manufacturing index are scheduled for release. Several ECB officials, including chief economist Philip Lane, are also set to speak.