Wall Street opened largely unchanged on Friday after stronger employment data increased expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates this month.
The US trade deficit widened 24.4 percent to US$88.6 billion in July as imports surged, driven by record purchases of computers, semiconductors and other capital goods linked to AI investment.
Hong Kong stocks opened higher on Thursday as investors responded to lower bond yields and softer oil prices, with major technology companies posting gains while some artificial intelligence firms fell.
US stocks recovered on Wednesday as investors returned to beaten down shares, while renewed pressure in global bond markets and rising Middle East tensions kept traders cautious.
OPEC+ is expected to leave its October oil output policy unchanged as the producer group completes one phase of production cuts and prepares for difficult negotiations over future quotas.
The Hang Seng Index surpassed 25,000 points for the first time in 18 months, leading a broad Asian equity market rally driven by stronger-than-expected Chinese economic data, global rate cut expectations and renewed institutional inflows into Greater China equities.
The Asia-Pacific IPO market has staged a dramatic recovery, with 110 new listings in the first half of 2026 raising a combined 82 billion US dollars, led by Hong Kong and India and driven by technology, new energy and biotechnology sectors.
Cumulative green bond issuance in the Asia-Pacific region has crossed the one-trillion-dollar threshold, driven by China's state-owned enterprises, Hong Kong's regional hub ambitions and a growing pipeline of sovereign and quasi-sovereign issuers across Southeast Asia.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has granted the first batch of stablecoin issuer licences under its comprehensive regulatory framework, approving three Hong Kong-dollar and US-dollar-pegged stablecoin operators in a milestone for the city's digital asset ambitions.
The world's largest private equity firms including Blackstone, KKR, Brookfield and Carlyle have collectively committed over 80 billion US dollars to Southeast Asian infrastructure investment, focusing on data centres, renewable energy and transport logistics.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has successfully defended the linked exchange rate system against a wave of speculative pressure, with the HKD maintaining its 7.75 to 7.85 dollar band and the HKMA deploying 28 billion US dollars in market operations.
