Real-time News

On Tuesday, February 3, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index opened 220.19 points higher, or 0.82%, at 26,995.76; the Hang Seng Tech Index opened 37.48 points higher, or 0.68%, at 5,563.79; the H-share Index opened 53.69 points higher, or 0.59%, at 9,133.88; and the Red Chip Index opened 14.15 points higher, or 0.33%, at 4,259.27.

On February 3, the Securities Association of China launched a summary and evaluation survey of the three-year improvement plan (2023-2025) for securities companies' network and information security, requiring all securities companies to submit survey questionnaires by February 15. This evaluation survey covers six main tasks: continuously improving the level of technology governance, establishing a scientific and reasonable technology investment mechanism, enhancing the ability to plan and control information system architecture, strengthening system R&D and testing management capabilities, consolidating system operation and maintenance capabilities, and improving the information security protection system. The aim is to comprehensively verify the implementation effectiveness of the three-year improvement plan and provide a basis for decision-making for the continuous optimization of the industry's network and information security capabilities. This is the first systematic review of the industry's network security construction achievements by regulators since the plan expires in 2025.

February 3 – The Fourth Session of the 16th Shanghai Municipal People's Congress opened on the morning of February 3 at the Shanghai World Expo Center. Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng delivered the Government Work Report. The report showed that in the past year, Shanghai continued to strengthen its efforts to stabilize foreign trade and investment. Foreign trade achieved growth against the trend, the "four-quadrant" differentiated policy approach was further deepened, and trade diversification yielded significant results. Total imports and exports to ASEAN and countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 10.4% and 12.1% respectively. Efforts to attract foreign investment were further intensified. An action plan to promote foreign investment was formulated and implemented, the new round of comprehensive pilot programs for expanding the opening-up of the service sector was accelerated, foreign-invested enterprises were encouraged to reinvest in China, and the overseas investment promotion coordination mechanism was strengthened. A number of major foreign investment projects in fields such as new energy vehicles and biomedicine were accelerated. Significant progress was made in work related to Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese affairs.

February 3rd - The Fourth Session of the 16th Shanghai Municipal People's Congress opened on the morning of February 3rd at the Shanghai World Expo Center. Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng delivered the "Government Work Report." The report showed that by 2025, the well-being of Shanghai residents will continue to improve. Per capita disposable income will reach 92,000 yuan, an increase of 4.1%.

February 3rd - Apple's M6 chip is expected to use TSMC's 2nm N2 process instead of the N2P process. This is because Apple prefers to focus on architectural upgrades and cost control, planning to bridge the process gap through its deep expertise in chip architecture design. Qualcomm and MediaTek are expected to be more inclined to adopt the N2P process first.

A division of SoftBank will collaborate with Intel to develop next-generation memory technology.

February 3rd - Crude oil prices rose slightly in early Asian trading, influenced by the US-India trade agreement. US President Trump stated on Monday that the US had agreed to reduce tariffs on India to 18%. Trump noted that Indian Prime Minister Modi "has agreed to stop buying Russian oil and instead increase purchases of US and Venezuelan oil." Analysts at ANZ Research noted in a report that, as part of the agreement, "Trump indicated he would remove the 25% additional tariff previously imposed on India's purchases of Russian crude oil." The analysts added, "This could trigger more aggressive purchasing behavior from Indian refiners."

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara: The UAE has informed Japan that the UAE President's state visit to Japan will be postponed from its original date of February 8.

The yield on Japan's five-year government bonds rose 3 basis points to 1.675%.

February 3rd, Futures News: Overnight, the decline in London spot precious metals markets narrowed somewhat, but remained weak; domestic Shanghai silver and Guangzhou platinum-palladium futures continued to hit their daily limit down. The gold-silver ratio quickly rebounded to 58.1, and the platinum-palladium price spread narrowed rapidly to $404/ounce. The US January ISM Manufacturing Index rose to 52.6, significantly exceeding expectations and reaching a new high since February 2022, far surpassing the expected 48.5. This was mainly driven by robust growth in new orders and output, with the employment index also improving, easing market concerns about the economy. Additionally, the US government shutdown delayed key data releases again, with the December JOLTS Job Openings report scheduled for Tuesday and the non-farm payrolls report scheduled for Friday. In just two trading days, the precious metals market experienced a historic plunge, a forced liquidation of previously extremely overbought and overcrowded trading, essentially a "bubble squeeze and deleveraging." However, it's important to note that the core long-term variables supporting precious metals (such as the restructuring of the US dollar credit system, the trend of de-dollarization of reserves, and the normalization of geopolitical rifts) have not reversed; the long-term driving logic remains intact. After this sharp correction, gold may enter a period of slower fluctuation, and further upward movement to challenge new highs will require more time to digest the impact. Silver continues to release risk, with its high volatility becoming more pronounced, but the second limit-down of the Shanghai silver futures contract has absorbed a significant portion of the risk. Platinum and palladium also experienced substantial declines in this round, but due to the supply shortages and inventory reduction assessments of recent years, the overall strategy remains to buy on dips after gold and silver stabilize. (This content and opinion are for reference only and do not constitute any investment advice.)

On February 3, Unisound announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it had entered into a placing agreement with a placing agent, pursuant to which the company agreed to appoint the placing agent and the placing agent agreed to act as the company's agent to endeavor to procure not less than six (6) independent placees to subscribe for 1,008,000 new H shares at a placing price of HK$310 per H share. The placing price represents a discount of approximately 17.68% to the closing price of HK$376.60 per H share as quoted on the Stock Exchange on February 2, 2026 (the last trading day and the date for determining the placing price).

Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Minoru: A weaker yen has both advantages and disadvantages, and the trend of foreign exchange is determined by a variety of factors.

New York gold futures touched $4,850 per ounce, up 4.24% on the day.