Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.6% lower at 65,481.27, while the broader TOPIX index dropped 1.7% to 4,041.13. South Korea’s KOSPI also ended the session down 0.27% at 6,870.81. The declines mark a weaker close across major Asian equity benchmarks.

TREE NEWS update: Shanghai Municipal People’s Government issued new regulations on compensation for collectively owned land requisition and housing demolition, stating that compensation funds and resettlement housing must be fully secured before agreements are signed. Resettlement housing must meet national quality and safety standards with clear title and no encumbrances, and if it is off-plan, the temporary transition period generally must not exceed three years.

TREE NEWS update: Germany’s Zhi Kang Group said on September 28 that the main structure of the world’s tallest wind turbine, which it designed and built, has been completed at a final design height of 365 meters. The turbine is located near the town of Schipkau in Lusatia, a former coal-mining region in Brandenburg, eastern Germany. The German Wind Energy Association said it is the world’s tallest wind turbine, just 3 meters shorter than the Berlin TV Tower, Germany’s tallest building.

TREE NEWS update: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that the Israeli military killed Izz al-Din Bik, commander of Hamas’s northern Gaza brigade, in an airstrike overnight between Sept. 28 and Sept. 29. The statement accused him of actively planning attacks on Israeli security forces and recruiting new fighters. Hamas has not yet responded.

TREE NEWS update: Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Bullock said the central bank’s goal is to tighten monetary policy in a measured way, adding that Australia does not have a wage-price spiral. She said the RBA did not take its decision lightly, and that the move was aimed at bringing inflation down. The board plans to schedule its meetings around ABS inflation data.

TREE NEWS update: Tokyo’s city center has recorded rainfall for 34 consecutive days, the longest streak since records began in 1886, Japan’s Meteorological Agency said as rain continued on the morning of September 29. Persistent rain since August 27 has been driven by an approaching typhoon and other factors, with wet conditions forecast to last through October 1.

TREE NEWS update: Shanghai rolled out ‘Huke Jifen 2.0,’ an upgraded version of its tech-enterprise credit-scoring program, optimizing policy linkage, indicator design, application procedures, data enablement and application scenarios. The new version adds Shanghai-specific indicators including industrialization application and R&D reserve funds, and adopts a ‘data auto-acquisition plus enterprise confirmation’ filing model. Scoring results will be opened to partner institutions so a single evaluation can be reused across financial services.

TREE NEWS reports: TrendForce has raised its 2027 HBM price forecast, projecting the blended average selling price will rise 121% year over year. The research firm said AI server demand keeps expanding while HBM and conventional DRAM compete for limited advanced-node and wafer capacity, and new-generation products still need time to improve yields and output. It cited tighter memory supply in 2027 and a higher share of pricier HBM4, with HBM4e ramping in the second half of 2027.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Natural Resources and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration issued a joint notice supporting high-quality, efficient development of the service sector by revitalizing rural collective operational construction land. Existing collective construction land zoned for industrial or commercial use and already registered under collective ownership, along with land formed through comprehensive land consolidation and the urban-rural construction land increase-decrease linkage policy, will enter the market under a unified national arrangement, with priority given to rural service-sector development.

TREE NEWS reports: China’s generative AI user base surpassed 700 million as of the first half of 2026, with penetration exceeding 50.0%, according to the Generative AI Application Development Report (2026) released by the China Internet Network Information Center’s policy and international cooperation department at the 7th China Internet Infrastructure Resources Conference. The report analyzes user usage, industry applications and policy development based on the latest survey data.

TREE NEWS update: Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Bullock said the bond market’s reaction has been orderly but the central bank is monitoring it closely, adding that it considered both holding rates and a 25 basis point hike. She said one upside inflation risk has emerged and two more are building, with inflation pressures from the AI boom accumulating, making the current situation very difficult.

TREE NEWS update: Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock said further interest rate increases may not be necessary if inflation continues to decline. She said the Middle East conflict is a major shock that has made everyone poorer, and that the longer the conflict lasts, the more likely businesses are to pass on costs.

TREE NEWS reports: The Hang Seng Tech Index fell as much as 1.8% intraday and was last quoted at 4,217.81 points, marking a new low for the year. Automakers led the decline, with NIO, XPeng and BYD shares among the biggest losers on the index.

TREE NEWS reports: London copper futures climbed to around $14,500 a tonne, closing in on a record high set earlier this month and on track for a third straight monthly gain. Workers at Antofagasta Plc’s Centinela copper mine in Chile voted overwhelmingly to reject the company’s final wage offer, raising the prospect of a strike and stoking supply concerns.

TREE NEWS reports: Taiwan’s benchmark weighted stock index closed 0.8% lower at 47,631.96 points. The decline marked a down session for the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s main gauge.

TREE NEWS update: Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Bullock said inflation is being driven by domestic capacity pressures, with the Middle East adding a further shock. She said inflation pressures will persist longer than previously expected, and the central bank will raise rates again if necessary to curb prices.

TREE NEWS reports: South Korea’s KOSPI index dropped 1.30% intraday and fell back below the 6,800 level. The benchmark’s decline marks a pullback from its prior position above that threshold, with the move recorded during the session.

TREE NEWS update: Hainan Commercial Spaceport’s Phase II project completed its main construction and began integrated testing on September 29. The project includes two general-purpose medium liquid-fuel launch pads capable of serving two-stage rockets up to 5 meters in diameter, including the Long March 12B. Following further testing, both pads are planned to reach launch capability within the year.

TREE NEWS update: Lindt & Sprüngli lowered its full-year 2026 organic sales growth guidance to 0%-2% from a previous 4%-6%, citing highly price-sensitive consumers and unusually hot weather in Europe. The company kept its guidance for a 20-40 basis point year-on-year improvement in full-year 2026 EBIT margin unchanged. Weak demand in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, especially in seasonal business, drove the cut.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s final leading economic index for July came in at 117.7, revised down from the preliminary reading of 117.9. The index, which tracks the economic outlook several months ahead, was lowered by 0.2 points from the flash estimate. No further revisions to the coincident or lagging indexes were given.