Real-time News

On February 2nd, it was reported that on November 3rd, 2025, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court of Guangdong Province sentenced five members of the Bai family criminal gang—Bai Suocheng, Bai Yingcang, Yang Liqiang, Hu Xiaojiang, and Chen Guangyi—to death for crimes including intentional homicide, intentional injury, fraud, drug trafficking, drug manufacturing, kidnapping, and operating a casino, along with corresponding supplementary penalties. Following the first-instance verdict, Bai Suocheng died of illness, and the other defendants appealed. After a hearing, the Guangdong Provincial Higher People's Court ruled on December 24th, 2025, to reject the appeals and uphold the original verdict, submitting it to the Supreme People's Court for review in accordance with the law.

February 2nd - On Monday, a group of civilians, including former lawmakers, filed a new impeachment lawsuit against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, accusing her of misusing government funds and breaching public trust. According to parts of the complaint filed with the House of Representatives, Duterte, who has a long-standing feud with President Marcos, orchestrated "an unprecedented frenzy of secret spending without justification or control" and "disregarded Congress's oversight power" when asked to explain. Last year, an impeachment lawsuit against the vice president failed after the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.

On February 2nd, the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued the "Guangdong Province 2026 Work Plan for Optimizing a Market-Oriented First-Class Business Environment." The notice proposes facilitating market access for new business models and fields. It implements a "non-prohibited is permitted" policy outside the negative list for market access, and further implements special measures to relax market access in Shenzhen, Hengqin, and Guangzhou Nansha. It optimizes the market access environment in the low-altitude airspace, establishes a collaborative management mechanism for low-altitude airspace between the military, civilian, and government, and improves the low-altitude infrastructure system, including general aviation airports and drone landing pads. It supports Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hengqin, and other regions in promoting road testing and demonstration applications of intelligent connected vehicles, and promotes cross-regional mutual recognition of road test results and licenses. It promotes the application of intelligent connected vehicles in scenarios such as unmanned delivery, scenic area shuttles, logistics transportation, and intelligent sanitation. It supports eligible regions in relaxing market access restrictions for pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and improves management standards for the research and development and application of various new drugs and medical device technologies.

A Japanese government spokesperson said that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that she hopes to build a strong economy capable of withstanding foreign exchange fluctuations.

February 2nd - The Ministry of Commerce will hold a press conference at 3:00 PM on Thursday, February 5th, 2026, where a spokesperson will introduce key recent work in the commercial field and answer questions from reporters.

A Japanese government spokesperson said that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi did not emphasize the benefits of a weak yen.

Japanese government spokesperson: No comment on foreign exchange levels.

February 2nd - In response to reports that "Yuanbao crashed," Tencent stated that a sudden surge in traffic caused temporary instability in some services, but services have now been restored.

February 2nd - CBA analyst Vivek Dhar stated in a report that the sell-off in gold and silver appears to be a buying opportunity, as the market may eventually regain its preference for so-called "hard assets" relative to the US dollar. The analyst believes it's difficult to interpret Kevin Warsh's nomination as the next Federal Reserve Chairman as the start of a sustained decline in gold and silver prices. Dhar stated, "Holding this view implies that the US policy environment will remain stable, and it's too early to believe that."

February 2nd - U.S. natural gas futures prices plummeted, erasing Friday's gains, as recent weather forecasts indicated milder temperatures. In early Asian trading, the near-month contract fell as much as 17% to $3.620 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). This followed an 11% gain on Friday due to record-breaking cold weather. While the southern United States is experiencing severe cold snaps and prompting energy conservation measures, temperatures are expected to rise by mid-February. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts that temperatures across most of the country will be above average for this time of year. This could reduce demand for natural gas used for heating and power generation.

February 2nd - Beijing's secondary housing market had a stable start to 2026. In January, Beijing's secondary housing transaction volume reached 15,082 units, maintaining a level above 14,000 units for three consecutive months, consolidating the market's stabilization trend. Market performance shows that the release of demand for school enrollment has shifted buyer sentiment in some areas, with previously hesitant buyers accelerating their entry into the market. In these areas, monthly transaction volume has remained between 60 and 70 units for three consecutive months. Meanwhile, in areas where transactions are mainly driven by first-time homebuyers, the supply of high-value first-time homebuyers has decreased, leading to a rebound in transactions of upgrade homes. Guo Yi, chief analyst at Heshuo Institution, stated that from the demand side, market transactions have remained stable at around 15,000 units for three consecutive months. In January 2026, transactions in first-tier cities even exceeded 4,000 units for three consecutive weeks, indicating that the transaction volume is expected to remain high during the "mini-boom" in the housing market, and the market will stabilize.

Hong Kong-listed chip stocks weakened, with GigaDevice (03986.HK) falling over 7%, Hua Hong Semiconductor (01347.HK) falling over 6%, and Innoscience (02577.HK), Shanghai Fudan (01385.HK), Biren Technology (06082.HK), SMIC (00981.HK) and other stocks following suit.

Euro Stoxx 50 futures and DAX futures fell 0.6%, while FTSE futures fell 0.2%.

Hong Kong-listed oil and gas equipment stocks declined, with Shandong Molong (00568.HK) falling over 7%, Sinopec Oilfield Service (01033.HK) falling over 5%, and Huashang Energy (00206.HK) falling over 1%.

February 2nd - Tencent Wealth Management's current account + 7-day annualized yield ranges from a high of 1.5280% to a low of 0.8560%, WeChat Pay's 7-day annualized yield ranges from a high of 1.1710% to a low of 1.0270%, and Alipay's Yu'ebao's 7-day annualized yield ranges from a high of 1.1270% to a low of 1.0060%.

The Hang Seng Tech Index fell by more than 2%, with new energy vehicle stocks weakening, and XPeng Motors (09868.HK) falling by more than 9%.