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According to ABC News, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated the Hantavirus outbreak as a Level 3 emergency response, the lowest level of emergency activation.

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Japanese Minister of Economic Revitalization Ryosuke Akazawa attended the G7 Trade Ministers' Meeting in France. The meeting discussed topics such as the value chain of important minerals, the outcomes and future of the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial conference, and held informal exchanges of views on the impact of the Middle East situation on the economy and trade.

Market news: A U.S. judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Efficiency's decision to terminate funding for humanities subjects was illegal and discriminatory.

JPMorgan Chase raised its price target for DoorDash from $244 to $250.

The yield on Japan's 30-year government bonds fell 2.0 basis points to 3.705%.

Former US Vice President Harris: The American people do not want this war with Iran; everything Trump says is nonsense.

Former US Vice President Harris: The situation in the Iran war is a complete mess right now.

Hong Kong-listed AI application stocks rallied in early trading, with MyFTSE (02556.HK) surging over 11.5%, Vobile Group (03738.HK) rising over 5%, and Kingsoft (03888.HK), Kingdee International (00268.HK), Mingyuan Cloud (00909.HK), and Weimob Group (02013.HK) all rising over 3%.

Hong Kong stocks saw their Hang Seng Index and Hang Seng Tech Index fall in early trading, both dropping more than 1%, with semiconductor and biopharmaceutical stocks leading the decline.

On May 8th, the highest 7-day annualized yield of Tencent Wealth Management's "Current Account +" was 1.1510%, and the lowest was 0.9400%. The highest 7-day annualized yield of WeChat Pay's "Lingqian Tong" was 1.1330%, and the lowest was 1.0666%. The highest 7-day annualized yield of Alipay's "Yu'ebao" was 1.1270%, and the lowest was 0.8900%.

As of 09:30 Beijing time, WTI crude oil futures rose 1.02%, and US natural gas futures rose 0.51%.

On Friday, May 8, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index opened down 266.49 points, or 1.0%, at 26,359.79; the Hang Seng Tech Index opened down 41.33 points, or 0.81%, at 5,079.77; the H-share Index opened down 56.03 points, or 0.63%, at 8,863.45; and the Red Chip Index opened down 19.1 points, or 0.42%, at 4,497.64.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) announced today that it conducted a 7-day reverse repurchase operation of 500 million yuan, with a bid amount of 500 million yuan and a winning bid amount of 500 million yuan. The operation rate was 1.40%, unchanged from the previous rate.

On May 8th, it was learned from the Ministry of Finance that the Ministry recently allocated 45.8 billion yuan in funding for 2026 to support the development of preschool education, an increase of 12.56 billion yuan, or 38%, compared to the previous year. The funds will primarily support local governments in consolidating and implementing the policy of waiving preschool tuition and childcare fees; addressing shortcomings in inclusive resources; improving the quality of care and education; and strengthening the financial aid system for children from economically disadvantaged families. Next, the Ministry of Finance, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, will guide local governments to fully leverage the role of provincial-level coordination, rationally allocate central government subsidies and local government-borne subsidies for waiving tuition and childcare fees, and ensure the normal operation of kindergartens. Simultaneously, it will further promote the expansion and improvement of preschool education, accelerate the addressing of weaknesses and shortcomings, and steadily improve the overall quality of kindergartens.

On May 8th, US President Trump stated that there was no need to restrict US oil or jet fuel exports. "We don't need them," Trump told reporters in Washington on Thursday. "And we have plenty of oil." The blockage of the crucial Strait of Hormuz has led to a significant increase in US energy exports, making the US the world's largest crude oil exporter, surpassing Saudi Arabia. However, experts have consistently warned that the US supply buffer is nearing its limit, and it remains unclear how long exports at this level can be sustained. Trump, however, disregarded these warnings and praised the surge in exports. He said, "Ships are turning back from their usual routes to the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "Hundreds of ships are heading to Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska, loading up and returning, making a fortune."

On May 8th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced that, to further promote the research, development, and industrialization of 6G technology in my country, it has granted a license to the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group to use 6G trial frequencies in the 6GHz band. This license supports 6G technology trials in select regions, enabling the group to conduct research and development and testing based on typical 6G scenarios and key performance indicators defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). This approval of 6G trial frequencies will strongly promote the high-quality development of 6G in my country.

As of 8:30 AM Beijing time, spot platinum was down 0.18% and spot palladium was down 0.35%.