Daily Buzz: 3 April 2026

Trump Speech Fails to Assuage Investors, Oil Prices Surge Again

US President Donald Trump's address to the nation failed to ease investor concerns about the impact of the war against Iran. Benchmark Brent crude futures surged 8 percent to close near US$109 a barrel, and the spot oil price, which reflects current physical cargoes to be delivered in the next 10-30 days, soared to US$141, the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, according to S&P Global tracking. The price spikes came after Trump promised to strike Iran "hard" in the next two to three weeks and gave no precise indication when the war will end. Stock markets in Asia and Europe slumped, and Wall Street pared deep losses, with the S&P 500 index up 0.1 percent, after Iran said it is in talks with Oman, which also borders the Strait of Hormuz, to draft a "postwar protocol" to monitor but not restrict traffic through the vital waterway that carries a fifth of the world's oil supply. Markets in Hong Kong, the US and Europe will be closed for the Good Friday holiday.

The Hormuz chokepoint has blocked transit for an estimated 2,000 vessels in the Persian Gulf. Britain chaired a virtual meeting on Thursday of some 40 countries to explore ways to restore freedom of navigation. No specific agreement emerged, but participants agreed that all nations should be able to use the waterway freely. China, which did not participate in the meeting, repeated its call for an immediate ceasefire to end global energy disruptions. The foreign ministry said Foreign Minister Wang Yi had discussed the Middle East situation in separate phone calls with top diplomats in Germany and the EU. Moscow said the strait is open to Russian vessels. Iran has allowed a trickle of vessels from "friendly" countries like Russia, China and Pakistan to transit the waterway, but is charging tolls for some ships.

Oil and gas aren't the only commodities caught in the Hormuz chokepoint. Helium prices in China have doubled as disruptions ripple through global supplies. Qatar accounts for more than half of global supplies of helium, a by-product of gas production vital in technologies from AI chatbots to MRI scanners. Domestic prices have surged to around 760 yuan (US$110) per cubic meter.

In the war, Trump boasted about a US attack that disabled a major bridge nearing completion in Iran, which Tehran said killed eight people and injured 95. Trump said there is "much more to follow." The US said the bridge would be a major supply route in Iran's ballistic missile and drone arsenal; Tehran said strikes on civilian structures won't "compel Iranians to surrender." Iran's Fars news agency later listed several bridges in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Jordan as potential targets for Iranian retaliation. The nation's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted an Amazon cloud computing center in Bahrain. Yemen's Houthis continued missile attacks on Israel.

Powerful Quake Hits Indonesia Near Sulawesi

A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck in the Molucca Sea off Indonesia's Ternate island near Sulawesi, killing one person and damaging buildings. A tsunami alert was issued but later rescinded. The epicenter was about 580 kilometers south of the Philippine coast.

Top Business

BYD Sales in March Drop From a Year Earlier

BYD, a leading Chinese maker of new energy vehicles, said it sold 300,222 units in March, declining about 20 percent from a year earlier. Pure electric and hybrid models were roughly evenly split in sales figures. Overseas sales rose to 119,591. BYD earlier reported a 19 percent decline in 2025 profit, the first drop in four years. Among other automakers reporting March sales, Shanghai-based SAIC Motor said it sold 376,000 vehicles, including both new energy and internal combustion models, a year-on-year decline of 2.5 percent. Among new energy vehicle startups, Leapmotor led with March sales of 50,029 cars, up 35 percent from a year earlier. Li Auto ranked second with a 12 percent rise to 41,053. Nio's sales surged 136 percent to 35,486, and Xpeng Motors deliveries dropped 17 percent to 27,415 units. Sales of electric vehicles globally have been boosted by the Iran war, which sent gasoline prices surging, making electric vehicles more attractive to some consumers.

Sluggish Chinese Housing Market Sends Mixed Signals

New home sales by area fell in the first quarter across 50 Chinese cities as the residential real estate market continues a sluggish recovery from a long slump. However, existing home sales in the biggest cities rebounded in March. About 26 million square meters of new homes were sold in the quarter, down 30 percent from a year earlier, according to data released by the China Index Academy. Sales of existing houses in 20 major cities doubled to about 18 million square meters, up 6 percent. New home prices in 100 cities edged up 0.5 percent in March, reversing a decline in the previous month. China's top 100 property developers saw their sales shrink 23 percent to 621 billion yuan (US$90 billion) in the first quarter. Improvement was reported in sales of foreclosed properties, with some auctioned homes drawing premiums. In Shanghai's Xuhui District, for example, one home sold for 63 percent above the auction floor price and 14 percent higher than its assessed value. The nationwide residential property has been in a slump that began in 2021, after government curbs on excessive borrowing by developers strained liquidity and led to some defaults and uncompleted projects.

Economy & Markets

Xreal Files for Hong Kong IPO

China's Xreal, the world's biggest maker of augmented reality glasses by revenue, filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, with some sources saying it may seek US$400 million in the share sale. The company, which has a development partnership with Google, reported revenue of 516 million yuan (US$71 million) in 2025, up about 31 percent from a year earlier, with more than 70 percent of sales generated from 40 overseas markets. It narrowed its deficit last year to 456 million yuan from 882 million yuan as margins rose to 35.2 percent. Xreal said it held 25 percent of the global market in 2025.

US Private Equity Firm Caps Redemptions in Technology Fund

US private equity firm Blue Owl told investors on Thursday that it is limiting withdrawals from two of its funds after an historic level of redemption requests in ‌the first quarter, with AI-related worries driving an investor exodus from its technology-focused fund. Wall Street investors have expressed concern about the health of private funds, after KKR, Apollo and BlackRock also limited redemptions recently. Blue Owl said investors sought to withdraw 41 percent of shares in its US$6.2 billion technology-focused fund, and it plans to fill only 5 percent of the requests.

Separately, investment bank Goldman Sachs, in a note to investors, said global hedge funds last month faced their worst monthly drawdowns in four years, Reuters reported. The withdrawals came amid market losses triggered by the Iran war. Among some funds cited, Dymor Asia Capital returns dropped 4.3 percent in March and 6 percent in the first quarter, and Balyasny Asset Management lost 4.3 percent in the month and 3.8 in the first three months.

Galaxea Gets New Funding for Research and Development

China's embodied AI startup Galaxea completed a fundraising of nearly 2 billion yuan (US$290 million) from investors, valuing the company at 200 billion. The funds will be used to scale up Galaxea research and development of new models.

Corporate

JD.com Returns to Dim Sum Bond Market

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com returned to the dim sum bond market with a 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion), two-tranche offshore issue, available to foreign investors, the South China Morning Post reported. It priced the 7.5 billion yuan issue of five-year senior unsecured notes at a 2.05 per cent coupon, and the 2.5 billion yuan trance of 10-year notes at 2.75 per cent. The debt goes on sale around April 10. JD plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including refinancing existing debt and repaying interest.

Lilly Seeks China Approval for New Obesity Pill

US drug giant Eli Lilly has applied to launch its new oral obesity drug orforglipron in China. The company submitted a marketing application to China's drug regulator as its latest GLP-1 therapy gains global momentum. On April 1, the drug received US Food and Drug Administration approval for use by overweight and obese adults, becoming the world's second oral GLP-1 treatment. Unlike existing injectable therapies, orforglipron is a once-daily pill that can be taken without food or water restrictions. China has yet to approve any oral GLP-1 weight-loss drug. To support its application, Lilly said it will invest US$3 billion over the next decade to build a local supply chain for oral drugs in China, including partnerships with domestic manufacturers.

Chery Jaguar Land Rover Goes All-Electric

The joint venture between China's Chery Auto and the UK's Jaguar Land Rover said it has ceased making vehicles with internal combustion engines, launching the new Freelander electric vehicle brand. Jaguar Land Rover has invested 3 billion yuan (US$436 million) to upgrade and digitize its new energy vehicle production line in Changshu, where all Freelander models will be manufactured. It will deploy Qualcomm Snapdragon 8397 auto-grade chips, Yicai reported.