Daily Buzz: 24 June 2026

Top News

Asian Stocks Hit by Selloff in Technology Shares

A global selloff in technology shares, dubbed "chip-wreck," sent Asian markets lower on Tuesday as investors weighing anew long-term prospects against short-term profits. South Korea's Kospi, heavily weighted in chipmaker shares, plunged 10 percent, and Japan's Nikkei was down 3.55 percent. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.4 percent, with the tech-heavy STAR Market 50 index off 1.7 percent. Semiconductor International Manufacturing fell 2.7 percent, and chip startup Cambricon tumbled 3 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 1.8 percent, with its tech index down 3.3 percent. Alibaba lost 3.8 percent and Tencent fell 4.2 percent. Zhipu AI, which soared 40 percent in intraday trading on Monday to hit a market cap of HK$1 trillion, plunged 10 percent.

On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell for a second day, losing 2.2 percent after a 1.3 percent decline on Monday. Analysts said the pullback may just be normal profit-taking after strong rallies. However, soaring tech share prices tend to revive debate about how long it will take advanced technology companies to show profits justifying high valuations and heavy investments.

Separately, a mix of state-backed funds, venture capital firms and corporate executives have cashed out more than 6.7 billion yuan (US$989 million) from seven chip stocks on the STAR Market since the start of this month, Yicai reported, citing its own calculations. Leading the selloff is National Silicon Industry Group, with 2.6 billion yuan (US$384 million) cashed out, followed by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation and Biwin Storage Technology.

US, Iran Send Mixed Signals on Concessions as Peace Talks Continue

US and Iran working groups continued talks in Switzerland on a permanent peace settlement as Washington and Tehran gave mixed signals on key points. The US says Iran has agreed to allow international nuclear inspectors back into the country; Iran denied it. Tehran said it will continue to exercise management control over maritime traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz; the US said it won't. Iran earlier unveiled a plan to levy fees on ships; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said no tolls will be charged. The US said unfrozen Iranian assets would be used to buy American soy, wheat and other farm products for the benefit of the Iranian people and not diverted to Iran's military. Tehran denied ever agreeing to such an undertaking.

Separately, the US Senate passed a nonbinding resolution directing President Donald Trump to remove military forces from the conflict with Iran, joining the House of Representatives in the first rebuke of the unpopular war passed by both houses of Congress. The measure, which has no force of law, is largely symbolic and comes as major hostilities have ceased to allow 60 days of peace talks.

Top Business

Alibaba Sues US Over Blacklist Inclusion, Technology Battle Expanding

Chinese tech titan Alibaba has filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Defense for including the company on a blacklist over alleged ties to China's military. "The determination has no basis in fact or law," the company said in a suit filed in federal court in California. "Alibaba is governed by an independent board, none of whom has any military affiliation. Its products and services are built for retail, logistics and enterprise information technology – not weapons, defense or intelligence." The Pentagon's recently announced additions to the blacklist also included tech firm Baidu, automakers BYD and Nio, and biotech company WuXi Tech.

Separately, robots may be next in the line of US fire against Chinese technology. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told executives at a closed-door meeting that his department is conducting a review of Chinese robotics imports and signaled the administration could ⁠take action if the goods are determined to be state-subsidized, US website Politico reported on Tuesday. Lutnick was reported as calling robotics an "arms race that is coming" and said the US needs to ensure that the race is dominated by American production.

On another front, the US Federal Communications Commission said an auction of wireless mid-band spectrum raised more than US$3.5 billion, which will largely be used to fund the "rip and replace" program to end use of Chinese telecom equipment. The agency earlier estimated it will cost almost US$4 billion to uproot Chinese telecom-equipment suppliers like Huawei and ZTE.

Parade of Chinese Firms in Hong Kong's IPO Market Continues

Shares in Shenzhen-based Senior Technology Material rose 33.3 percent from their offer price in their trading debut in Hong Kong on Tuesday after the lithium battery separator company raised about HK$1.3 billion (US$171 million) in its initial public offering. Shares in HJ Science, a clinical-stage biotech company, gained 13 percent after an IPO raising HK$1.02 billion.

Separately, three Chinese companies kicked off investor subscriptions for listings in Hong Kong. Laifual Drive, a manufacturer of core precision transmission components, plans to raise up to HK$1.2 billion (US$153 million) by offering 13.4 million shares. True Health Medical Technology Development, a developer of medical equipment for lung cancer treatment, is seeking to raise HK$480 million with the offer of 3.6 million shares. And Jiangxi Institute of Biological Products, a producer of antitoxins and immune-serums, aims to raise up to HK$470 million in the offer of 36 million. All three companies will begin trading on June 30. Last week, about eight Chinese companies began IPOs in the city.

China Seeks to Shore Up After-Sales Car Market

China introduced 17 measures aimed at expanding the market in after-sale auto services, including improvement of maintenance, regulation of vehicle modification, increased rental bar businesses, support for recreational vehicles and new businesses like classic cars, and development of motor sports events. In May, China's retail sales of cars slumped 16 percent from a year earlier, which has a knock-on effect on after-sales services.

Summer Davos Views: Cross-Border Trading Crackdown

China's crackdown on illegal cross-border securities trading was a hot topic on the first day of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in China, known as "Summer Davos." Some participants said the move could strengthen Hong Kong's role as an offshore financial hub, which has developed channels that allow mainland investors to buy overseas stocks, the South China Morning Post reported. About 1,700 people from around the world are attending the meeting in Dalian, which ends on Thursday. The theme of this year's event is unlocking economic growth through innovation.

Economy & Markets

China to Encourage Foreign-Invested Companies to List on Chinese Mainland Markets

China said it will support companies wholly or partially owned by foreigners to list on Chinese mainland stock markets in a move to widen participation beyond mostly domestic companies, attract more foreign direct investment and increase use of the yuan. According to a circular released by the Ministry of Finance and two government agencies, Chinese mainland stocks markets will assist companies seeking to list. At present, only a few companies with foreign ownership trade on Chinese markets, such as French-owned kitchen utensil maker Zhejiang Supor. Select foreign equity-investment firms would be allowed to participate in domestic stock offerings as cornerstone investors, the circular said.

The number of newly established foreign-invested firms in China rose 5.3 percent to 25,297 in the first five months of this year, the Ministry of Commerce, but actual foreign direct investment fell l8.6 percent to 327.29 billion yuan (US$48 billion) from a year earlier.

Weak Consumer Spending Hits 618 Shopping Festival

Weak consumer spending undercut sales during China's annual mid-year 618 shopping festival, the second-largest online event of its kind in China. Gross merchandise value at e-commerce platforms, including Alibaba's Tmall, JD.com, Pinduoduo and Douyin, was almost flat from a year earlier at 863.6 billion yuan (US$127.4 billion), according to data provider Syntun. If food delivery and group buying are included in the figures, sales rose 4 percent this year to 934 billion yuan, compared with a 15 percent surge last year. Big shopping festivals, which typically offer hefty discounts, have been waning in popularity in recent years, with consumers more reluctant to buy non-essential goods, even at lower prices. This year, regulators warned e-tailers against excessive discounting, misleading advertising and selling goods at a loss.

Corporate

Leapmotor-Stellantis Venture Opens Spanish Battery Plant

Leapmotor International, a joint venture between Stellantis and Chinese electric-car startup Leapmotor, opened a new battery assembly plant in Spain. It will initially turn out 65,000 lithium-phosphate battery modules, with capacity to increase production to 100,000 units. Leapmotor, ⁠which is partly owned by Stellantis, is due to begin assembling its B10 SUV at a plant in Spain later this year.

Tencent, Alibaba Said to Consider Exits From Game Firms

China tech giant Tencent is in talks on a possible exit from investments in several Japanese game studios, including Tokyo-listed Marvelous, as part of a global reassessment of its investment portfolio, Bloomberg News reported. The company is reportedly evaluating minority stakes and may be prepared to sell the shares back to original management teams.

Separately, Yicai Global reporting that Alibaba Group is mulling the sale of its gaming unit Lingxi Games for up to 9 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) and has reportedly contacted at least five potential buyers.

ByteDance's Doubao Set to Release Seedance 2.5 Model

ByteDance arm Doubao's new video generation model Seedance 2.5 has entered the final stage of internal testing and is scheduled for official release in early July. The company unveiled a sample video clip on Tuesday, which delivers core technology upgrades in generation duration, multimodal input capability and shot coherence. Separately, Yicai reported that ByteDance's Volcano Engine cloud unit isn't planning a spinoff and separate stock market listing. Tan Dai, president of the unit, issued the denial in response to market speculation.

Ubtech Unveils Commercial Services Robot

Shenzhen-based robot maker Ubtech unveiled the Walker C1, a 1.64-meter-tall AI humanoid commercial service robot designed for use in tourism, retail, and entertainment sectors. The robot has 26 degrees of freedom. Revenue from Ubtech's full-size humanoid robot products surged more than 22-fold to 821 million yuan (US$121 million) in 2025, comprising 41 percent of business.

CATL to Co-Develop Truck Battery-Swap Stations in Europe

Contemporary Ampere Technology (CATL) has teamed up with Octopus Energy in Europe to develop a battery-swap network for heavy-duty trucks. The first stations are expected to go into operation next year in the UK, with 30 sites planned by 2035.

Biokin Pharma Cancer Drug Wins Chinese Regulatory Approval

China's Biokin Pharmaceutical said Iza-bren, its "first-in-class" cancer therapy drug, received marketing approval in China. The izalontamab brengitecan injection will be used to treat patients where chemotherapy has failed, the Chengdu-based company said.