U.S. stocks rallied Wednesday as falling oil prices and Treasury yields boosted investor confidence amid hopes of easing Middle East tensions and possible progress in U.S.-Iran negotiations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.31%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained 1.08% and 1.54%, respectively. Oil prices dropped sharply, helping ease inflation concerns that had recently pushed bond yields to multi-year highs and raised fears the Federal Reserve might need to tighten interest rates further.
Several major companies saw notable stock moves following earnings and corporate updates. Nvidia reported a strong first quarter, with revenue jumping 85% year over year to $81.62 billion, beating analyst expectations, though its shares stayed mostly flat as investors had already priced in strong growth. Intuit shares fell sharply after the company announced a 17% workforce reduction and posted slightly weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue. Meanwhile, E.l.f. Beauty rose nearly 5% after exceeding Wall Street forecasts and announcing plans to roll back some tariff-related price increases to ease pressure on consumers. Star Bulk Carriers gained 3% after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue for the quarter. In contrast, Choice Hotels International slipped after announcing CEO Patrick Pacious would step down, with strategy chief Dominic Dragisich appointed interim CEO.
Hong Kong stocks closed lower overall, with the Hang Seng Index falling 0.57% to 25,651 despite strength in technology shares. The Hang Seng Tech Index rose 0.34%, supported by a strong rally in semiconductor stocks after YMTC launched its A-share IPO process. SMIC surged nearly 10%, while Hua Hong Semiconductor jumped almost 14%, and GigaDevice climbed over 17%.
Gold-related stocks weakened as spot gold prices stayed below USD4,500 per ounce. Laopu Gold was the worst-performing blue chip, falling nearly 7%, while miners such as Zijin Mining and Zhaojin Mining also declined.
Among major tech companies, Tencent and Alibaba each dropped about 1%, while JD.com gained 1.5%, outperforming peers. Xiaomi ended lower by 1.6%.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding shares fell 3.3% after investors grew concerned that rising demand for smaller and mid-sized vessels could reduce future profit margins compared with larger ships. The stock briefly dropped over 5% to its lowest level in more than two months before recovering slightly by the close.
The decline came despite the company securing US$1.03 billion in new orders this year, increasing its total order book to US$22.3 billion and moving closer to its 2026 target of US$4.5 billion in contracts. Analysts noted that while the strong order momentum is encouraging, smaller vessel contracts generally generate lower margins and could pressure profitability from 2028 onward, especially alongside higher steel and labor costs and currency headwinds.
Still, analysts remain cautiously positive on the company, citing stable margins in the near term, healthy expected first-half results, and potential upside from its investment in Poseidon Corp, which could support higher dividend payouts later in 2026.
OCBC won the bid to acquire HSBC Holdings’s retail and wealth assets in Indonesia by offering significantly more than competing bidders — in most cases, over US$100 million higher. Only the second-highest bid came within US$100 million of OCBC’s offer.
The strong bid gave OCBC exclusive bilateral negotiations to finalize the acquisition. The deal value is based on HSBC Indonesia’s net asset value plus a premium of up to S$480 million, with final pricing subject to adjustments and regulatory approval, likely by the first half of next year.
Other shortlisted bidders reportedly included DBS, UOB, CIMB Group Holdings, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
The acquisition strengthens OCBC’s expansion strategy in Indonesia, where it already operates through Bank OCBC NISP and previously acquired Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s local business in 2024. It is also the first major acquisition under new CEO Tan Teck Long, who is pushing for broader Asian growth, especially in wealth management and private banking.
Analysts view the acquisition positively, saying it should enhance OCBC’s Southeast Asian franchise, improve margins and fee income, and modestly boost earnings after integration costs. The acquired HSBC portfolio includes about S$2.3 billion in deposits, a S$300 million retail loan book, and around 1,300 staff, all of whom OCBC plans to retain.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) says around 10 companies from countries such as Indonesia, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Switzerland, the UK, and the US have filed or are exploring IPOs in Hong Kong this year, signaling growing international interest in the market.
Although Chinese and Hong Kong firms still dominate — raising US$36.4 billion through 110 IPOs in 2025 — the number of foreign listings could make this Hong Kong’s strongest year for international IPOs since at least 2020.
HKEX executive Johnson Chui said this reflects a “structural change” in Hong Kong’s appeal. Previously, overseas firms usually needed strong China exposure to justify listing there, but now companies without significant China business are also considering Hong Kong due to strong market momentum, access to Asian investors, and improved sector depth in areas like biotech and AI.
Potential or rumored listing candidates include:
Syngenta Group — considering a Hong Kong IPO worth up to US$10 billion
Engine Biosciences
NiKang Therapeutics
Teleport
Blockdaemon
Capital A
Allergy Therapeutics
The IPO pipeline spans technology, biotech, logistics, consumer, mining, and financial sectors, and includes first-time IPOs as well as dual listings.
Bankers and lawyers say Hong Kong is increasingly attractive because it offers access to a broad investor base — including global funds, Chinese institutions, hedge funds, and retail investors — while also developing deeper expertise in sectors such as AI and biotech, positioning itself as a competitor to Nasdaq for growth companies.
Hongkong Land reported a 5% increase in underlying profit for Q1 2026, mainly due to lower financing costs, which offset weaker contributions from Singapore after the sale of its stake in Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3.
Key highlights:
The company raised US$600 million through asset sales and capital recycling in 2026, bringing total recycled capital to US$3.6 billion since its strategic overhaul in 2024. Its target is US$4 billion by end-2027.
In February, Hongkong Land launched its first private real estate fund, the Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund (SCPREF), with S$8.2 billion in assets under management. The company aims to grow this to S$15 billion within five years.
Hong Kong Central portfolio profits were stable:
Higher retail rents and lower costs helped offset weaker office rents.
Office vacancy improved slightly, with committed vacancy falling to 5.5%.
Luxury retail performance remained resilient despite major renovation works at Landmark properties.
Singapore portfolio contributions declined because of the divestment of MBFC Tower 3, though the SCPREF portfolio continued to perform well amid strong demand for premium office space in Marina Bay.
Mainland China earnings improved thanks to additional rental income from projects opened in 2025.
Looking ahead, Hongkong Land expects 2026 full-year underlying profit to be slightly higher than 2025, supported by improving leasing conditions in Hong Kong and ongoing cost management efforts.
The company’s shares closed at US$7.96 before the earnings release, down 0.4% for the day.
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