Real-time News

On April 29th, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi posted on social media: "We have confirmed that a Japanese-affiliated vessel that was previously stranded in the Persian Gulf safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz on April 29th and has now withdrawn from the Persian Gulf, heading towards Japan. There were three Japanese crew members on board. Japan has consistently maintained that it is imperative to ensure the freedom and safety of all vessels, including Japanese ships, in the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible. Japan will seize every opportunity to engage with Iran. I have personally conveyed this position of our country to Iranian President Pezechzian."

The main contract for the container shipping index (European route) rose by 3.00% during the day, currently trading at 2295.0 points.

April 29th - The World Gold Council estimates that global central banks increased their gold reserves at the fastest pace in over a year in the first quarter, driven by a buying spree triggered by falling gold prices. Data shows that official institutions made net purchases of 244 tons of gold in the first quarter, up from 208 tons in the previous quarter. Poland, Uzbekistan, and China were the largest disclosed buyers, with some purchases remaining undisclosed. Gold prices have fluctuated significantly this year, hitting a record high at the end of January before falling in March following the outbreak of the Iraq War. John Reade, chief strategist at the World Gold Council, stated, "This is the first significant pullback in gold prices in some time, allowing central banks that may have been waiting on the sidelines to enter the market and buy heavily." Several other central banks also reduced their holdings in the first quarter. Turkey, Russia, and Azerbaijan, along with other smaller central banks and sovereign wealth funds, reduced their holdings by approximately 115 tons. These moves initially raised concerns about continued institutional buying, a trend that has been a key driver of gold price increases for many years.

Mercedes CFO: Increased electric vehicle production is expected to boost sales in the second half of the year, but this is also expected to dilute profits to some extent.

The China Earthquake Networks Center automatically determined that an earthquake of approximately magnitude 4.1 occurred near Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet, at 14:29 on April 29. The final result is subject to the official rapid report.

A senior Pakistani official said efforts are underway to narrow the differences between the United States and Iran.

Volvo Cars CCO: Competition in the U.S. market is intensifying, especially in segments where competitors have locally produced cars.

Hong Kong-listed tech stocks rallied, with JD Health (06618.HK), Meituan (03690.HK), and Bilibili (09626.HK) all rising over 3%, while Alibaba (09988.HK), Kuaishou (01024.HK), and Tencent Music (01698.HK) also followed suit. Baidu (09888.HK) bucked the trend, falling over 5%.

On April 29th, the World Gold Council released its Q1 2026 Global Gold Demand Trends report. In its outlook, the World Gold Council noted that geopolitical factors remain a key focus for gold demand in 2026. They continue to believe that ongoing geopolitical risks will support investment demand and central bank gold purchases, while the possibility of high inflation and sustained strength in gold prices will further boost investment demand. For similar reasons, jewelry demand may continue to be under pressure, although related consumer spending is expected to remain resilient.

Volvo Cars CCO: We are seeing significant price pressure in certain markets, such as Germany.

World Gold Council: Gold demand for technology applications rose slightly by 1% year-on-year to 82 tonnes, mainly driven by the continued expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

A Malaysian government spokesperson said that the oil and gas company has confirmed that energy supplies are sufficient in May and June, but some fuel shortages are expected afterward.

On April 29th, the World Gold Council released its Q1 2026 "Global Gold Demand Trends Report," showing that global physical gold ETFs maintained net inflows in Q1, with global holdings increasing by 62 tons. Asian investors bought a significant 84 tons, while holdings in European and American markets saw a slight decline – net outflows from Western markets in March reversed the strong inflow momentum at the beginning of the year. Affected by high gold prices, global gold jewelry demand declined by 23% year-on-year to 300 tons. Demand for gold jewelry generally cooled in major global markets. However, in terms of spending, gold jewelry demand bucked the trend, indicating that even with historically high gold prices, consumers' willingness to buy gold jewelry remains robust.

On April 29th, RBC Capital Markets stated that it expects the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive time, with policymakers closely monitoring the impact of rising energy prices on inflation. Overall CPI in April is likely to exceed the 1% to 3% target range for the first time since December 2023. However, interest rate policy cannot influence global oil prices, and its impact on the economy is lagged, meaning the central bank needs to base monetary policy on future inflation levels rather than current inflation. The Bank of Canada is expected to proceed cautiously as long as inflation expectations and broader inflationary pressures (excluding rising energy prices) remain under control. The Bank of Canada's Business Outlook Survey showed a rise in inflation expectations, but signs of further slowing in the March "core" indicators should allow the central bank to maintain policy flexibility in assessing new data and its recent forecasts. First-quarter GDP growth was broadly in line with the January forecast, and recent data suggests a modest recovery in economic momentum. The labor market also shows signs of stabilization, but the unemployment rate remains low, insufficient to indicate that underlying inflationary pressures are intensifying, meaning there is limited urgency for further policy adjustments in the near term.

UK Housing Minister Reed: We are not considering rent control.

On April 29th, at the main forum of the 9th Digital China Construction Summit, Zhang Yunming, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, introduced that in 2025, my country's digital industry achieved business revenue of 39.6 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.8%, accumulating momentum for the development of the digital economy. Regarding infrastructure, Zhang Yunming stated that my country has built the world's largest and most technologically advanced network infrastructure. As of the end of March, there were 4.958 million 5G base stations and 32.01 million 10GPON ports with gigabit network service capabilities, historically achieving gigabit connectivity in every county, 5G connectivity in every township, and broadband connectivity in every village; the intelligent computing power reached 1882 EFLOPS, ranking among the top in the world, strongly supporting high-quality economic and social development. Meanwhile, breakthroughs in basic industries such as integrated circuits are accelerating. Zhang Yunming mentioned that new progress has been made in 3D storage technology, with the fully self-developed HarmonyOS operating system installed on nearly 1.2 billion devices, and a number of innovative enterprises such as DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics have emerged.

On April 29th, Thomas Hulick, CEO of Strategy Asset Managers, stated that with the market widely expecting Federal Reserve Chairman Powell and the Federal Open Market Committee to keep interest rates unchanged, the key variable now is energy. Futures markets show oil prices above $85 per barrel, continuing to push up inflation expectations and exacerbating intraday volatility in U.S. Treasury yields. As long as Middle East tensions involving Iran and the issue of a potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz remain unresolved, the bond market will continue to be sensitive to inflation risks. "That's why we're still hearing discussions about a possible rate hike later this year," he added. For yields to return to normal, oil prices may need to fall back to the $70 per barrel range. "Once energy prices stabilize, inflation expectations should fall accordingly, allowing U.S. Treasury yields to return to more fundamental levels."