Daily Buzz: 10 July 2026

US, Iran Continue Attacks. Is This Just a Temporary Truce Meltdown?

The Middle East conflict fell back to a familiar cycle: a ceasefire cracks, the US attacks Iranian sites, Iran counters with strikes on regional US bases, Pakistan and other mediators try to revive stalled peace efforts, and investors weigh whether the latest flareup in hostilities is just temporary or something more serious. The US struck around 90 targets in southern Iran, including bridges and rail lines. Iran retaliated with attacks on US military bases in the Persian Gulf and Jordan. US President Donald Trump said Tehran leaders called him "badly" seeking a deal, but there was no comment from those leaders as they led nationwide observances for the burial of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader killed by US and Israeli forces on the first day of the war on February 28.

The Strait of Hormuz, flashpoint of the latest ceasefire breakdown, remained technically open but shippers and insurers are wary after Iran earlier this week attacked three ships attempting the transit the waterway along a route not designated by Tehran. Benchmark Brent crude futures closed at US$76.30 in New York.

Hong Kong Expert Says Climate Spiraling Out of Control

As Super Typhoon Bavi barrels towards Taiwan and the eastern coast of Chinese mainland, Asia's top climate scientist warned of humanitarian disasters as the planet's climate "spirals out of control," the South China Morning Post reported. Benjamin Horton, dean of the School of Energy and Environment at City University of Hong Kong, told the paper that the world needs to brace for more disasters as the climate system nears a tipping point. "The Earth is incredibly sensitive," he said. "It has a planetary boundary, and we are right at the edge of it. That means that the system is prone to extremes, which we find very hard to predict exactly where and when."

Top Business

Luxshare Precision Falters on First Day of Trading in Hong Kong

Shares of Luxshare Precision Industry fell 3.7 percent from their offer price in their first day of trading in Hong Kong after the biggest initial public offering in the city so far this year raised HK$24.3 billion (US$3.1 billion). Luxshare is an assembler of Apple AirPods and supplier of parts for consumer and automotive electronics. Global technology shares have been on a roller-coaster for weeks as investors weigh future profit prospects against high development costs. Apple accounts for about 70 percent of the Shenzhen-based company's revenue, which last year totaled 332.3 billion yuan (US$49 billion). The company has been expanding both core business and partnerships, raising its stake in and German automotive cable and harness specialist Leoni to 74.9 percent in April.

Luxshare was one of six debuts in Hong Kong by Chinese mainland companies on Thursday. Electronic test equipment maker Rigol fell 37.4 percent from its offer price; circuit-board tool maker Dtech Technology lost 1.8 percent; e-paper display maker DKE rose 1.7 percent; Rokae Robotics gained 11.2 percent; ceramic electronic parts maker CCTC increased 4.7 percent; and snack maker Qiyunshan Food gained 162.5 percent.

Shares in Nexchip, a leading China foundry specializing in display driver and power management chips, are set to begin trading today in Hong Kong after an IPO that raised HK$7 billion. The Hefei-based company said proceeds of the sale will be allocated to financing research and development, and AI-powered systems.

Zhipu AI, Iluvatar CoreX Launch Share Placements

Two leading Chinese technology companies launched share placements on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Zhipu AI, which trades as Knowledge Atlas Technology, is seeking to raise HK$31.4 billion for research and computing hardware through the issue of 19.8 million shares. The Beijing-based company, known as one of "China's AI tigers," is the developer of the of the high-performing GLM 5.2 large language model to compete with Anthropic. Shanghai-based Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor, a maker of graphics processing units, is seeking to raise HK$7.1 billion by offering14.9 million shares, allocating proceeds to upgrading its supply chain and accelerating next-generation products.

SK Hynix Shares Set to Begin Trading in New York

Shares in SK Hynix are set to begin trading on the Nasdaq today after a US$28 billion initial public offering that is the largest foreign listing to date in New York. The South Korean chipmaking giant's share sale was seven times oversubscribed. The proceeds will be used to ramp up production amid escalating global demand for AI chips, particularly the HBM memory chips used for faster processing. The company's shares in Seoul have surged 174 in the past six months.

Foxconn Industrial Internet Flags Doubled First-Half Profit

Foxconn Industrial Internet said it expects first-half net profit attributable to shareholders to reach up to 24.4 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion), which would be double a year earlier. The Shanghai-listed company said the increase was mainly driven by cloud-computing demand, with AI server revenue rising more than 230 percent and shipments of data-center switches increasing 1.4 times.

Economy & Markets

China Consumer Prices Rise a Slower-Than-Forecast 1 Percent

China's consumer prices in June rose a slower-than-expected 1 percent from a year earlier, with food costs dropping 1.6 percent on weaker prices for pork and fresh fruit, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. Transportation costs eased to a gain of 4.1 percent after a 5.4 percent rise in May, after the government cut domestic retail gasoline and diesel prices as a new truce in the Middle East lowered global energy costs. Prices for clothing gained 1.4 percent and healthcare costs were up 1.3 percent, but housing prices declined 0.3 percent. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy costs, also rose 1 percent in June from a year earlier. Producer prices at the factory gate increased 4.1 percent, their biggest jump in almost five years, but declined 0.3 percent from May in the third month of a rebound from a long period of deflation. Wholesale prices were lifted by growing demand for AI computing power, pushing up prices for tech equipment and semiconductors.

China's Market Watchdog Cracks Down on 'Phantom Delivery' Merchants

China's market watchdog imposed fines and confiscations amounting to 3.6 billion (US$530 million) on seven of the country's largest e-commerce and on-demand services platforms in the first six months of the year. The regulator stepped up enforcement against so-called "phantom delivery" fraud involving online merchants that operate without legitimate physical premises. Chinese regulators imposed an aggregate of 19.6 million (US$3 million) in fines on e-commerce and fast-delivery platforms Pinduoduo, Meituan, JD.com, ByteDance's Douyin and three Alibaba online sites for failing to prevent such merchants from operating on their platforms.

IMF Lowers Global Growth Forecast, Lifts China's

The International Monetary Fund shaved its forecast for global growth this year to 3 percent from 3.1 percent, citing risks related to the continuing Middle East conflict and expected 4.7 percent global inflation this year. It is forecasting China's economy will grow 4.6 percent, up 0.2 percentage point from its last report in April.

Temasek Increases Investment in China

Singapore-based global investment fund Temasek increased its holdings in China by S$10 billion (US$7.7 billion) in its fiscal year ended March 31, its biggest annual increase on the Chinese mainland in five years. The company's China exposure has increased by S$24 billion in the last decade, with the current focus centered on AI related technologies, biotech and robotics.

Corporate

ByteDance Launches New Seedream Model

ByteDance, operator of TikTok, launched Seedream 5.0 Pro, its latest multimodal image model, with upgrades in image-text alignment, text rendering and visual quality. The model targets creators, designers, marketers, educators, product teams and developers who need dense visual layouts, localized text, controlled edits and reusable design assets from prompt and reference inputs.

MetaX Expanding Production on Rising AI Demand

MetaX, a Chinese maker of graphics processing units, said it is scaling up production to meet mainland demand for more AI computers. MetaX said orders already stretch into next year. The company's shares in Shanghai surged almost 17 percent on Thursday.

AI-Designed Drug Reaches Phase III Trials

US-based Insilico Medicine launched what it says is the world's first Phase III trial of a generative AI-assisted drug discovery. The late-stage study will evaluate rentosertib in 320 patients with a form of pulmonary fibrosis, marking a milestone for AI-powered drug development as the technology moves closer to commercialization.

Porsche Global Deliveries Fall 16 Percent, China Down a Third

German premium carmaker Porsche said global deliveries in the first half fell 16 percent from a year earlier to 122,306 vehicles, the lowest level since 2020. In China, deliveries plunged ⁠nearly a third, with the company calling the mainland a "challenging market environment." Deliveries fell 13 percent in North America, Porsche's largest sales region, and 14 percent in Europe outside of Germany. A day earlier, rival Mercedes-Benz reported an 8 percent drop in second-quarter car sales, citing intense competition in China.