Real-time News

The main liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) contract surged 4.00% intraday, currently trading at 5999.00 yuan/ton.

The U.S. military stated that it had taken "limited, precise action" against Iranian Revolutionary Guard mine-laying units that posed an "imminent threat" in the Strait of Hormuz.

The yield on Japan's 30-year government bonds rose 1.5 basis points to 4.135%.

August 31st - US President Trump: For years, the US has lost over $60 billion annually in trade with Canada. Why??? Businesses that were stolen from us long ago are now returning to the US to avoid tariffs. They're lining up to return, just like businesses elsewhere in the world!!

The yield on Japan's two-year government bonds rose 0.5 basis points to 1.73%, the highest level since April 1995.

Tensions in the Middle East escalated again over the weekend, causing a surge in crude oil prices this morning, which is expected to support a higher market opening this week. If the situation in the Middle East continues with both peace talks and conflict, the market is likely to continue consolidating at high levels this week.

SoftBank Group shares fell about 4.8%, and Tokyo Electron shares fell more than 4%.

On August 31st, Japan's industrial production rose 0.1% month-on-month in July, better than the expected 0.7% decline; retail sales rose 2.4% month-on-month and 4% year-on-year, both significantly exceeding expectations. Manufacturers expect industrial production to grow by 6.4% in August, followed by a 4.2% decline in September. The much stronger-than-expected industrial production data mitigated some short-term downside risks priced into the market's assessment of Japan's economic growth prospects. The sharp rebound in retail sales, both month-on-month and year-on-year, indicates that consumer spending performed better than suggested by the decline in June. This is significant for the Bank of Japan's ongoing discussion on whether domestic demand can continue to drive inflation. The manufacturers' survey indicates that industrial production is expected to grow strongly by 6.4% in August, but will decline significantly in September, suggesting that the current strong performance may be partly due to advance production or a rebound after a previous decline, rather than a genuine acceleration of the industrial cycle. According to the US financial website InvestingLive, combined with US Treasury Secretary Bessant's recent remarks that the pace of interest rate hikes is effectively left to Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, the resilience of economic growth and consumption further weakens the reasons for the Bank of Japan to postpone further tightening of its policy.

The Nikkei 225 index opened down 731.46 points, or 1.10%, at 65,674.10 on Monday, August 31.

Japan's inventory growth rate in July was 0.5% month-on-month, compared to 2.8% in the previous month.

Japan's retail sales in July totaled 13.88 trillion yen, compared with 13.019 trillion yen in the previous month.

Japan's preliminary industrial production growth rate for July was 4.1% year-on-year, below the expected 3.40% and the previous reading of 4.90%.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessenter: Next time we might directly sanction a bank, following the U.S. imposing restrictions on an Egyptian bank's branch in the UAE.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessenter: We told the banks that having Iranian funds and supporting the Iranian regime is unacceptable.

Japan's seasonally adjusted retail sales rose 2.4% month-on-month in July, revised from -4.10% to -3.90% in the previous month.

Japan's retail sales rose 4% year-on-year in July, below the expected 2.9% and the previous figure revised from 0.50% to 0.60%.

Japan's industrial production rose 0.1% month-on-month in July, below the expected -0.7% and the previous month's 1.90%.