Jul 16 ,2026
Synopsis:
Asia equities ended mostly lower Thursday amid increased volatility. South Korea lost all of Wednesday's gains following second sharp decline in a week. Japan's Nikkei 225 and Topix both closed lower; Taiwan's Taiex and Australia's ASX both flat. Mainland China boards lower for a second day, Hang Seng was higher but off its peaks. India slightly higher; Southeast Asia mixed. US futures ticking higher, Europe opened with losses. US dollar consolidated overnight declines, Asia currencies largely flat although the won gained post a hawkish BOK. Treasury and JGB yields higher across tenors. Precious and industrial metals mixed, crude oil futures lower but near recent elevated levels.
Asia memory stocks under renewed pressure Thursday but on little fresh newsflow but did follow a volatile session on the Nasdaq overnight as valuation and hyperscaler capacity questions resurfaced, while estimate-beating quarterly numbers from TSMC post the close in Taipei failed to shift sentiment. South Korea's Kospi back where it started Wednesday morning following a steep decline and another sell-side 'sidecar' trading halt. Also post the market close, Seoul's exchange regulator said it would temporarily halt new listings of single-stock leveraged ETFs to curb market volatility.
In other developments, the Bank of Korea raised interest rates by 25 bps as fully expected by economists amid ongoing financial stability risks and above-target inflation. The governor leaned hawkish in his press conference to give the won a boost. Crude prices remained elevated amid more US-Iran exchanges and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Focus increasingly turning to physical fuel shortage concerns just as India increased export fuel duties, while Russia asked New Delhi for help in gasoline supply amid Ukraine refinery attacks in Russia.
The local offices of Renesas Electronics (6723.JP) have been raided by South Korea prosecutors over alleged collusion. Alibaba (9988.HK) and Baidu (9888.HK) AI models are to be integrated into Apple Intelligence in China, according to reports. Zhongji Innosight (300308.CH) has received approval for a $7B secondary listing in Hong Kong. DeepSeek (+DeepSeek) said it is planning to raise fresh capital at a valuation of $74B ahead of its potential IPO on Shanghai's STAR market, according to a Reuters report. XPeng (9868.HK) is planning to increase robot production to 1K per month by the end of this year with a global rollout next year. TSMC (2330.TT) upgraded its revenue and capex projections amid robust demand, posted estimate-beating quarterly revenue and profits.
Digest:
Notable Gainers:
+9.6% 348370.KS (Enchem): to acquire 85% stake in THE GROWHUB via reverse triangular merger, effective 8-Oct; aims to expand US business and fundraising
+6.2% 9868.HK (XPeng, Inc.): reportedly planning to increase robot production to 1K/month by end of 2026 ahead of global rollout in 2027
+5.8% 6532.JP (BayCurrent Inc): reports Q1 revenue above FactSet estimate; maintains FY guidance
+3.9% 9602.JP (Toho Co): reports Q1 results; underlying print seen as solid
+3% 9988.HK (Alibaba Group): Qwen AI reportedly to be integrated into Apple Intelligence in China
Notable Decliners:
-11.6% 1070.HK (TCL Electronics Holdings): to acquire TCL air conditioner business for HK$5.61B via cash and share issuance; completion expected in Q4
-7.2% 6723.JP (Renesas Electronics): South Korean prosecutors reportedly raid comany among others over suspected collusion; Japanese AI infrastructure-related stocks move following SOX decline
-6.8% 2337.JP (Ichigo): reports Q1 operating income and revenue both lower y/y
-3.1% 3697.JP (SHIFT Inc): reports 9M revenue higher y/y, but adjusted net income declines
-0.7% 902.HK (Huaneng Power International): reports Q2 total electricity sold (within China) 98.09B kWh, (1.0%) y/y
-0.5% 2331.HK (Li Ning): Q2 update; retail sell-through of LI-NING POS down by low-single-digit y/y
Data:
Economic:
No economic data today
Markets:
Nikkei: (1,915.97) or (2.79%) to 66835.54
Hang Seng: 327.50 or +1.33% to 25008.60
Shanghai Composite: (73.17) or (1.85%) to 3882.41
Shenzhen Composite: (39.44) or (1.51%) to 2568.83
ASX200: (0.40) or (0.00%) to 8840.70
KOSPI: (463.81) or (6.37%) to 6820.60
SENSEX: 186.05 or +0.24% to 77371.48
Currencies:
$-¥: (0.06) or (0.04%) to 162.1260
$-KRW: (8.01) or (0.54%) to 1477.7300
A$-$: (0.00) or (0.09%) to 0.6997
$-INR: +0.05 or +0.05% to 96.2979
$-CNY: (0.00) or (0.03%) to 6.7672
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