Real-time News

On July 7th, two economists from Goldman Sachs Research stated that Thailand's inflation is expected to remain under control, referring to Monday's CPI data. The economists said, "The overall CPI increase in June unexpectedly fell short of expectations. Although the core CPI increase was higher than Goldman Sachs' expectations, we believe this should not be a major concern at this stage." They added, "Forward-looking surveys showed that corporate output price expectations eased somewhat in June, suggesting limited evidence of persistent underlying price pressures." Goldman Sachs continues to expect the Bank of Thailand to maintain its policy rate at 1.00% until the end of 2026.

July 7 – Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Minoru Jonouchi stated that media reports claiming the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was attempting to lower interest rates were completely inaccurate. At a regular press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, Jonouchi said, “Reports that the government is encouraging low interest rates as part of its fiscal expansion policy are baseless. If our intentions have not been accurately conveyed, we will work harder to improve understanding.” Jonouchi’s remarks come as financial markets closely watch how Takaichi will implement her economic strategy through large-scale investment without exacerbating the already heavy debt burden. Last month, Jonouchi represented the Japanese government at a Bank of Japan board meeting, where policymakers raised the benchmark interest rate to 1%, the highest level in 31 years.

July 7th - It was learned today that the State Administration for Market Regulation has decided to conduct a centralized review of national metrological technical specifications from July to September. Through periodic reviews and dynamic monitoring, the review aims to promote the upgrading and optimization of metrological technical specifications. The centralized review covers currently effective national metrological technical specifications, focusing on issues such as outdated specifications, lagging content, and insufficient adaptability. It will conduct a thorough review from four dimensions: legality and compliance, scientific validity, applicability, and coordination. The review will benchmark against domestic regulations and standards and advanced international metrological technologies to comprehensively identify shortcomings and weaknesses in the system. Participating units are encouraged to submit optimization suggestions, and exemplary national metrological technical specifications will be selected to guide improvements in the quality and supply capacity of metrological technical specifications.

On July 7th, a Citi report stated that although Tencent Holdings (00700.HK) had previously indicated it might use its investment portfolio to fund shareholder returns, this share reduction was still unexpected for the bank, especially considering Kuaishou's (01024.HK) relatively low valuation and the recent completion of a private placement for its subsidiary, Keling, in which Tencent invested approximately US$200 million for a 1.12% stake. This suggests that Tencent may be reallocating its existing investment portfolio to new AI investments to diversify its ownership and strengthen its position in the AI field. The bank believes this share reduction may damage market sentiment towards Kuaishou and raise concerns about whether Tencent will further sell shares in Kuaishou or other invested companies. However, given that Kuaishou's fundamentals remain unchanged and Keling has growth potential, the bank maintains a positive view on Kuaishou, maintaining its "Buy" rating and target price of HK$72.

Sources indicate that USD/KRW foreign exchange trading related to the SK Hynix ADR listing is expected to take place around July 15.

July 7th - Abhijit Suria, senior Asia-Pacific economist at Capital Economics, stated that the slowdown in Japanese wage growth in May is unlikely to prevent the Bank of Japan from further interest rate hikes. He pointed out that preliminary data released earlier showed that the growth rate of Japanese labor cash income slowed to 3.2% in May from 3.6% in April. Suria said, "Despite the recent slowdown, various indicators of basic wage growth remain well above the 2025 average and are still high relative to historical levels." He added, "We believe that today's data is unlikely to change the Bank of Japan's fundamental assessment that the labor market remains tight." Capital Economics maintains its view that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates to 2% by the end of 2027.

The yield on Japan's 40-year government bonds rose 1.0 basis point to 3.935%.

On July 7, Pan Gongsheng, Governor of the People's Bank of China, stated at the Hong Kong Fixed Income and Currency Summit and Bond Connect Forum that in the past year, bonds in multiple currencies, including Hong Kong dollars, US dollars, euros, and Japanese yen, have developed steadily. The outstanding amount of Dim Sum bonds has exceeded two trillion yuan, the number of relevant issuers has become more diverse, and market liquidity has continued to improve.

Tencent Holdings (00700.HK) rose more than 4%, while Kuaishou (01024.HK) opened down 6.8% after Tencent reduced its stake in Kuaishou and cashed out tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars.

On July 7th, the highest 7-day annualized yield of Tencent Wealth Management's "Current Account+" was 1.1670%, and the lowest was 0.7180%. The highest 7-day annualized yield of WeChat Pay's "Lingqian Tong" was 1.0110%, and the lowest was 0.9440%. The highest 7-day annualized yield of Alipay's "Yu'ebao" was 1.1050%, and the lowest was 1.0010%.

On Tuesday, July 7, the Hang Seng Index opened down 47.83 points, or 0.2%, at 23,568.49; the Hang Seng Tech Index opened down 16.81 points, or 0.37%, at 4,524.42; the H-share Index opened down 31.81 points, or 0.41%, at 7,780.54; and the Red Chip Index opened down 6.59 points, or 0.17%, at 3,847.99.

Hang Seng Index futures opened down 0.06% at 23,530 points, a discount of 88 points.

New York gold futures fell below $4,150 per ounce, down 0.42% on the day.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee: Launching delivery connection with the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

The yield on Japan's 30-year government bonds rose 2.5 basis points to 4.100%.