Real-time News

On March 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on his official social media platform that the large-scale attack launched by Russia in the early hours of the day had resulted in at least four deaths and dozens of injuries, including children. The attack affected 11 regions of Ukraine, damaging infrastructure and civilian buildings in many areas. Recovery efforts are currently underway. Zelenskyy stated that the Russian military used more than 390 drones and 34 missiles of various types in the attack. He called on the international community to continue supporting Ukraine and emphasized the need to promptly implement all agreements regarding air defense systems.

France's manufacturing output index for March came in at 48.5, a four-month low, while the preliminary manufacturing PMI came in at 50.2, a two-month high. The preliminary services PMI for March came in at 48.3, a five-month low. The preliminary composite PMI for March also came in at 48.3, a five-month low.

France's preliminary composite PMI for March was 48.3, below the expected 49.3 and the previous reading of 49.9.

France's preliminary services PMI for March was 48.3, below the expected 49 and the previous reading of 49.6.

On Tuesday, March 24, the Hang Seng Index closed up 681.24 points, or 2.79%, at 25,063.71; the Hang Seng Tech Index closed up 118.41 points, or 2.51%, at 4,830.89; the H-share Index closed up 191.71 points, or 2.31%, at 8,499.53; and the Red Chip Index closed up 69.98 points, or 1.69%, at 4,210.08.

On March 24, SK Hynix announced plans to spend 11.9 trillion won (approximately $7.9 billion) to purchase state-of-the-art extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography (EUV) chip manufacturing equipment from ASML, further increasing its investment in next-generation memory to meet the growing demands of artificial intelligence. The order, valid until 2027, is the largest of its kind, highlighting the urgency among chipmakers vying for EUV equipment essential for the mass production of the world's most advanced semiconductors. This decision reflects the increasingly fierce competition between SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics for the supply of cutting-edge memory. EUV lithography machines, costing hundreds of millions of dollars each, are crucial for advanced DRAM and HBM. ASML's other major customers include Samsung and TSMC.

March 24th - According to foreign media reports, the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel continues, while Trump claims that the two sides are holding negotiations aimed at ending the conflict. Iran launched missile and drone attacks overnight on Israeli cities including Eilat, Dimona, and Tel Aviv, as well as US military bases in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia claimed to have intercepted a drone in the east, while Kuwait stated that some power lines went offline following the Iranian attacks. Alarms were also sounded in Bahrain. According to Iranian media Fars News, the US and Israel launched attacks that damaged a natural gas pressure regulating plant and an administrative building in the central Iranian city of Isfahan. Additionally, a pipeline supplying natural gas to the Khorramshahr combined cycle power plant in southwestern Iran was attacked. The attacks continue despite Trump's decision to postpone attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure.

According to two sources and data from LSEG, crude oil loading has resumed at the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk after operations were suspended following a drone attack.

Russian Foreign Ministry: Lavrov reiterated that Russia is willing to provide full assistance to overcome existing differences in the Middle East through peaceful means, while taking into account the interests of all countries in the region and avoiding any double standards.

The yield on UK 2-year government bonds opened down about 4 basis points to 4.366%, after falling sharply earlier on Monday.

On Tuesday, March 24, the German DAX 30 index opened 108.20 points higher, or 0.48%, at 22,703.45; the UK FTSE 100 index opened 18.10 points higher, or 0.18%, at 9,912.25; and the French CAC 40 index opened 19.71 points higher, or 0.26%, at 7,745.91. The Stoxx 50 index opened 19.14 points higher, or 0.34%, at 5593.46 on Tuesday, March 24; the Spanish IBEX 35 index opened 53.22 points higher, or 0.32%, at 16941.42 on Tuesday, March 24; and the Italian FTSE MIB index opened 120.70 points higher, or 0.28%, at 43310.50 on Tuesday, March 24.

Stellartis shares in Milan rose 1.1% after European new car sales rose in February.

Oracle (ORCL.N) has released its "Agentic" innovation, an AI database for enterprise data.

European stocks opened with the Euro Stoxx 50 index up 0.2%, the German DAX index up 0.3%, the French CAC 40 index up 0.1%, and the UK FTSE 100 and Spanish IBEX 35 indices opening near flat.

South Korea said its Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol requested Oman's Foreign Minister's support in a phone call regarding crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

Ukrainian President Zelensky: Last night's massive Russian attack had an impact. Ordinary apartment buildings were damaged and fires broke out in Zaporizhia and Poltava. Nearly 40 drones launched an attack on Shostakov in the Sumy region.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have launched over 3,000 strikes against Iran since the start of this operation. Yesterday, the IDF targeted the command center, weapons storage facilities, and air defense systems of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Overnight, more than 50 targets were struck, including ballistic missile storage and launch facilities.