Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Schneider Electric has completed and put into operation the first phase of its Xiang’an Industrial Park in Xiamen, which the company says is its largest medium-voltage electrical equipment production base worldwide. The facility spans about 110,000 square meters and combines an R&D technology center, smart manufacturing and a service training center. Construction also began on phase two of the Xiamen Torch Power and Electrical Industrial Park.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs has opened a public consultation on a newly revised national standard for rating elderly care facilities, replacing the previous standard on rating and assessment. The draft states that ratings will follow principles including voluntary application, scientific and reasonable methodology, quality focus, practical results, objectivity and fairness, and standardized procedures, with facilities graded on a comprehensive review of environment, equipment, operations and services.

TREE NEWS reports: The Huatai-PineBridge China-Korea Semiconductor ETF (513310) rose nearly 8% and surpassed 20 billion yuan in turnover, leading all equity ETFs on the day and marking a 150% increase from the previous session’s full-day volume. Its two largest holdings, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, both posted strong gains in Korean trading.

TREE NEWS update: Iran’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Darzi, told an open Security Council session on October 27 that Israel possesses nuclear weapons and has long secretly pursued weapons of mass destruction without joining key disarmament treaties, yet Western council members focus instead on “Iran’s lack of verification.” He said Israel has never faced equivalent verification pressure.

TREE NEWS update: Kazakhstan is considering the need to establish a reserve of rare metals, the country’s government said. The proposal concerns stockpiling rare metals, though no decision, timeline or scope has been announced. Rare metals are critical inputs for electronics, defense and energy technologies, and several governments have moved to secure supply.

TREE NEWS update: Douyin Group Vice President Li Liang renewed his dispute with Qin Shuo, founder of Qin Shuo’s Circle of Friends, over whether a ‘Byte Time’ exists in China’s internet sector. In a new post, Li said Qin made a characterization that did not match the facts without clarifying the details of a Nomura report’s data, calling it highly irresponsible. Li added that knowingly refusing to correct a mistake and deliberately amplifying misleading views is ‘either foolish or malicious.’

TREE NEWS reports: A rebound in artificial-intelligence shares is reviving risk appetite in credit markets, ending the longest stretch of widening global investment-grade bond spreads in 20 months. The move extended into Asia on Wednesday, with credit traders saying yield premiums on investment-grade dollar bonds narrowed by at least 2 basis points. The spreads are on track to tighten for a second straight session, the first such run in five weeks.

TREE NEWS reports: The main ethylene glycol futures contract hit its daily limit-up on Thursday, rising 6%. The move marks a sharp single-session gain for the petrochemical futures contract. No further details on the contract month or exchange were immediately available.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 685.82 points, or 1.08%, at 63,954.19 on Wednesday, October 28, led by chip stocks. South Korea’s KOSPI rose 374.1 points, or 6.63%, to 6,012.44, closing above the 6000 level for the first time in 10 trading sessions. SK Hynix gained nearly 11% and Samsung Electronics added about 9%.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 1.1% at 63,954.19, while the broader Topix slipped 0.1% to 3,991.71. South Korea’s Kospi outperformed with a 6.6% gain to 6,012.44, led by chipmakers SK Hynix, up nearly 11%, and Samsung Electronics, up about 9%.

TREE NEWS reports: Nomura Holdings posted second-quarter net profit of ¥103.73 billion, up 13% year on year, on total revenue of ¥1.32 trillion, a 14% increase. Investment banking fee income rose 28% to ¥57.17 billion, while asset management fees jumped 67% to ¥171.57 billion. Trading profit climbed 19% to ¥204.61 billion and brokerage commissions gained 20% to ¥125.56 billion.

TREE NEWS update: Mongolia has dispatched additional forensic experts and forestry and botany researchers to the Numrug Nature Reserve in the country’s east to assess damage from a large-scale grassland fire, state media reported on October 28. Satellite data released the same day by the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring put the burned area at about 449,000 hectares.

TREE NEWS reports: Hubei province’s local and foreign currency loan balance reached 9.92 trillion yuan at the end of September, up 6.1% year-on-year, the People’s Bank of China Hubei branch said. The growth rate was 1.4 percentage points above the national average, with new loans of 531.6 billion yuan added since the start of the year. The average interest rate on new corporate loans in January-September was 3.01%, down 12 basis points year-on-year.

TREE NEWS reports: The People’s Bank of China Hubei branch said the province has extended 91.5 billion yuan in credit lines to sectors tied to its “six networks” initiative this year. The figure was disclosed in the bank’s report on Hubei’s financial conditions for the third quarter of 2026. Hubei has held 82 special project-financing matchmaking sessions this year, generating 1.7 trillion yuan in medium- and long-term financing intentions.

TREE NEWS update: A Chinese People’s Liberation Army strategic consultation delegation visited France and Germany from Oct. 21 to 28 for defense talks. The two sides exchanged views on bilateral and military relations, the international and regional security situation and other issues of shared concern, and agreed to strengthen strategic communication in defense, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and expand exchanges and cooperation.

TREE NEWS update: Fitch Ratings affirmed the long-term foreign-currency issuer default ratings of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China and Bank of Communications at A with a stable outlook. The agency also upgraded the six lenders’ viability ratings: ICBC, ABC, CCB and BOC to bbb+, Postal Savings Bank to bbb and Bank of Communications to bbb-.

TREE NEWS reports: BASF reported third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of €1.64 billion, up 15% year on year and above the €1.49 billion consensus estimate. Sales rose 14% to €16.36 billion, beating the €15.69 billion forecast. The German chemicals group now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA of €7.4 billion to €7.8 billion, raising its prior range of €6.9 billion to €7.7 billion; the market had expected €7.55 billion.

TREE NEWS reports: Mercedes-Benz Group reported third-quarter sales of €30.7 billion, down 4.5% year on year and below the €30.95 billion estimate. Mercedes-Benz Cars EBIT came in at €455 million, up 5.8% but short of the €584.7 million forecast. Net profit rose 28% to €1.52 billion, versus an estimated €1.66 billion.

TREE NEWS reports: Deutsche Bank reported a third-quarter common equity tier 1 capital ratio of 14%, down from 14.5% a year earlier but above the 13.9% estimate. Net revenue rose 3.6% year on year to €8.34 billion, beating the €8.24 billion estimate, while pre-tax profit climbed 7.6% to €2.63 billion. Third-quarter profit came in at €1.85 billion, ahead of the €1.71 billion estimate.

TREE NEWS reports: With nearly 50% of votes counted in Israel’s election, the Netanyahu bloc has secured 55 seats and the Eisenkot bloc 50. Vote counting is ongoing, and the final seat distribution has not yet been confirmed.