Real-time News

Fitch: Vietnamese banks face profit margin pressure as liquidity tightens.

Futures Market News, April 1st: 1. WTI crude oil futures trading volume was 1,351,483 lots, an increase of 372,279 lots from the previous trading day. Open interest was 2,031,325 lots, an increase of 2,417 lots from the previous trading day. 2. Brent crude oil futures trading volume was 213,541 lots, an increase of 43,528 lots from the previous trading day. Open interest was 298,303 lots, a decrease of 1,923 lots from the previous trading day. 3. Natural gas futures trading volume was 487,441 lots, an increase of 171,828 lots from the previous trading day. Open interest was 1,514,966 lots, an increase of 7,285 lots from the previous trading day.

On April 1st, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) abruptly ordered a crackdown on rupee put options on Friday evening, triggering emergency liquidations in the banking sector and putting up to $30 billion in arbitrage trading under pressure. After trading resumed on Monday, the market panicked over a liquidity crunch. Sources estimated that banks liquidated between $4 billion and $10 billion in positions that day. This means that the vast majority of these positions remain to be liquidated before the April 10th deadline. Because the Indian foreign exchange market was closed for holidays on Tuesday and Wednesday, Monday's liquidation wave caused the rupee to fall to a record low of 94.80, marking the largest intraday fluctuation since 2013. This intervention by the central bank is one of the toughest measures against currency speculation in a decade. Despite Trump's signals of a possible withdrawal from Iran, the high oil prices resulting from the Iran war continue to push up India's trade deficit and inflation. Analysts from institutions such as Wells Fargo warn that a rupee falling to 100 to the US dollar is almost a certainty. Currently, as banks are forced to buy dollars domestically to cover their short positions overseas, the onshore-offshore forward spread has surged to its highest level since 2020.

April 1st - Cao Cao Mobility announced on April 1st that it has received approval from relevant regulatory authorities to become the first smart passenger vehicle company in Hangzhou to conduct road tests of driverless intelligent connected vehicles. This marks a new stage in Cao Cao Mobility's Robotaxi operations, enabling unmanned operation.

April 1st, Futures News: Economies.com analysts' latest view: Spot gold has recorded consecutive gains in recent intraday trading, mainly benefiting from dynamic support above the EMA50 moving average. This further strengthens the dominance of the short-term corrective upward wave, especially as the price moves along the support trendline, and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) also releases positive signals. These factors collectively support the continuation of bullish momentum. However, we note that these technical indicators have entered severely overbought territory, which may limit further gains and push prices towards a slowdown or consolidation in the short term.

April 1st, Futures News: Economies.com analysts' latest view: WTI crude oil futures have risen again in recent intraday trading and are preparing to test the strong resistance level of $100.00. The current price continues to trade above the 50-day EMA, finding dynamic support and further solidifying the stability of the short-term uptrend, especially given that the price is moving along the support trendline. We also note that the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is beginning to show a positive golden cross signal, after it had previously entered deep oversold territory, contrasting with the price action. This phenomenon suggests that the market may be forming a positive divergence, thereby increasing the probability of continued upward price movement in the near future.

Honda's sales in Japan fell 7.4% year-on-year in March; Nissan's sales in Japan fell 12.2% year-on-year in March.

Futures News, April 1st: Economies.com analysts' latest view: Brent crude oil futures rose in recent intraday trading after finding support near the 50-day EMA and rebounding. This provided positive momentum, helping prices achieve gains within the dominant short-term uptrend. Currently, prices are moving along a support trendline, and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is showing positive signals after being deeply oversold, providing more room for further price increases in the short term.

Japan's domestic auto sales fell 7.3% in March compared to the same period last year.

Jefferies: Lowered its price target for Coca-Cola (KO.N) from $90 to $88.

According to Japan's Kyodo News, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines will raise fuel surcharges in June.

Li Auto (02015.HK): From now until April 30 (inclusive), customers who place an order for the Li MEGA can enjoy a limited-time 5-year 0% interest plan.

The yield on 20-year Japanese government bonds fell 7.5 basis points to 3.205%.

The Israeli military stated that it has identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israel, and its defense systems are operational to intercept the threat.

On April 1st, CICC issued a report stating that Zhipu (02513.HK)'s revenue in 2025 reached RMB 724 million, a year-on-year increase of 132%, with an adjusted net loss of RMB 3.18 billion. The 2025 results met the bank's and market expectations. The company disclosed that as of March 2026, its MaaS API ARR had reached RMB 1.7 billion, a 60-fold year-on-year increase. Due to improved model intelligence and increased downstream demand, the API ARR growth in 2026 significantly exceeded the bank's and market expectations. CICC maintained its "Outperform" rating on Zhipu. Given the company's much higher-than-expected ARR, and considering adjustments to earnings forecasts and valuation levels, CICC raised its target price by 13% to HKD 900, equivalent to a projected 2027 price-to-sales ratio of 50 times.

On April 1st, it was reported that on March 31st, the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the China-EU Chamber of Commerce jointly organized a roundtable exchange meeting on serving foreign-invested R&D institutions in Shanghai. Representatives from the China-EU Chamber of Commerce, Novartis, bioMérieux, Siemens Healthineers, DSM-Firmware, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novo Nordisk, as well as relevant personnel from the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the Shanghai Science and Technology Exchange Center attended the meeting. The Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission responded to the opinions and suggestions of the companies, stating that it will further strengthen communication and resource sharing with foreign-invested R&D institutions, provide full policy support, enhance innovation collaboration, optimize the innovation ecosystem, and contribute to the high-quality development of Shanghai's biopharmaceutical industry.

The yield on 30-year Japanese government bonds fell 8.5 basis points to 3.63%.

The Israeli military said it had completed a large-scale airstrike against Iran.