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February 24th - The Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered its fifth year, and the trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States have yet to achieve a breakthrough. Zelenskyy stated that security guarantees remain a thorny issue. Zelenskyy said he has been repeatedly told that Russia will never launch another conflict. "I cannot accept this answer. I'm sorry," he said. "These security guarantees certainly have their merits," he said, referring to the commitments currently on the table, "but I want a very concrete answer: if Putin attacks again, what actions are our partners prepared to take? That's what the Ukrainian people want to hear." Addressing another thorny issue, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine is willing to freeze the conflict at the current front. However, he also indicated that Ukrainian troops will not withdraw from the eastern Donetsk region, which they still control. "Russia just wants us to withdraw... We can't be that stupid. We are not children. We have gone through so many years of conflict; we cannot simply hand over our country to them," he said.

February 24th - Tencent Wealth Management's current account + 7-day annualized yield ranges from a high of 1.1850% to a low of 0.8410%, WeChat Pay's 7-day annualized yield ranges from a high of 1.0930% to a low of 1.0220%, and Alipay's Yu'ebao's 7-day annualized yield ranges from a high of 1.0990% to a low of 1.0040%.

On February 24th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to US President Donald Trump, urging the president to "stand on our side." Speaking at the presidential palace in Kyiv on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Zelenskyy stated that the United States, being a large and influential nation, cannot ignore the conflict. He hoped Trump would express support for Ukraine against Putin's Russia in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. "They must stand on...the side of democracy. Because this man is a war. Putin is a war. Everything is for himself. Everything is for him alone. And his country, his entire country, is in trouble," Zelenskyy said. "If they really want to stop Putin, the United States is very powerful," he said. When asked if he believed Trump had put enough pressure on Putin, Zelenskyy replied, "No."

Hong Kong-listed robotics concept stocks declined in the short term, with WoAn Robotics (06600.HK) falling more than 12%, Yuejiang (02432.HK) falling more than 10%, SenseTime (00020.HK) falling 6.5%, and UBTECH (09880.HK) falling more than 5%.

Hong Kong-listed tech stocks continued to weaken, with Kingdee International (00268.HK) falling more than 8%, SenseTime (00020.HK) falling more than 5%, Tencent Holdings (00700.HK) and Kuaishou (01024.HK) falling more than 3%, and Alibaba (09988.HK) falling more than 2%.

Hong Kong stocks opened lower and continued to decline, with the Hang Seng Index falling 1% and the Hang Seng Tech Index falling 1.6%.

As of 09:30 Beijing time, WTI crude oil futures fell 0.15%, while US natural gas futures rose 0.21%.

On Tuesday, February 24, the Hang Seng Index opened down 168.23 points, or 0.62%, at 26,913.68; the Hang Seng Tech Index opened down 55.09 points, or 1.02%, at 5,330.26; the H-share Index opened down 67.25 points, or 0.73%, at 9,130.13; and the Red Chip Index opened down 25.4 points, or 0.57%, at 4,441.24.

On February 24th, the Shanghai silver futures main contract led the market gains in the morning session, while gold, platinum, and palladium also saw significant increases. Hongyuan Futures analysis pointed out that some positive US economic and employment data, coupled with concerns from some Federal Reserve officials about a rebound in inflation, pushed back the expected timing of a Fed rate cut to July. The US continued to threaten military action against Iran to force it to compromise in nuclear negotiations, while peace talks between the US, Ukraine, and Russia made some progress and began to touch on territorial issues, leading to fluctuating geopolitical risks and triggering safe-haven demand. The US Supreme Court ruled some of the Trump administration's tariff measures illegal, but the Trump administration subsequently introduced new tariff measures based on other legal provisions, raising concerns about uncertainty in US foreign trade policy. The prospect of Fed Chair-designate Kevin Warsh cutting rates but struggling to reduce the balance sheet, along with Treasury Secretary Bessant's statement that the Fed may not quickly reduce its balance sheet, and the continued gold purchases by many central banks, may support precious metal prices in the medium to long term.

Hang Seng Index futures opened down 0.67% at 26,890 points, a discount of 192 points.

On February 24th, Futures News reported that during the Spring Festival, US media reported that Trump was inclined to launch an initial strike against Iran in the coming days, and a larger-scale attack might be launched in the coming months. Affected by the escalating US-Iran conflict, crude oil prices rose significantly, and domestic crude oil and oil product futures opened higher following international crude oil prices. Ruida Futures analysis pointed out that the fuel oil market is experiencing weak supply and demand, with prices fluctuating in line with international crude oil costs. Considering that the supply of high-sulfur fuel oil is more affected by Iran, its volatility is expected to be greater than that of low-sulfur fuel oil. Post-holiday market movements may follow international crude oil fluctuations; a wait-and-see approach is recommended.

The main liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) contract rose by 2.00% during the day, currently trading at 4553.00 yuan/ton.

The main contract for the container shipping index (European route) rose by 2.00% during the day, currently trading at 1261.5 points.