March 24 Morning News Summary

【Morning News Highlights】 [Taoguba]

1. The conference on deepening the high-quality construction and development of Xiong’an New Area was held, and an important speech was delivered. Firmly grasp the functional positioning of Xiong’an New Area, strive to build a new era innovation hub and a model for high-quality development.
2. On the eve of the opening of the US stock market on Monday, U.S. President Trump told U.S. media on the 23rd that Iran “really wants to reach an agreement,” and the US and Iran “may reach an agreement within 5 days or even sooner.” Trump also stated that the U.S. has had “strong” dialogue with Iran and has formed key points of an agreement.
3. Several “senior leaders” of Iran stated on March 23 (local time) that Trump’s claim of negotiations with Iran that day is untrue. It is reported that Iran’s “senior leadership” said there are no negotiations between Iran and the U.S.
4. Iran’s Islamic Parliament Speaker, Kalibaf, posted on social media denying dialogue with the U.S. A senior Iranian official said that President Trump has no authority to set conditions or deadlines for negotiations.
5. The White House stated on March 23 (local time) that it will not confirm whether U.S. officials will hold further talks with Iran or intermediaries this week.
6. The National Development and Reform Commission announced on the 23rd that, based on the current pricing mechanism, from 24:00 on March 23, the maximum retail prices of domestic gasoline and diesel (standard products) should be increased by 2,205 yuan and 2,120 yuan per ton, respectively. To ease downstream user burdens, the government has implemented temporary price control measures, with actual increases of 1,160 yuan and 1,115 yuan per ton for gasoline and diesel, respectively, less than the full adjustment by 1,045 yuan and 1,005 yuan, roughly reducing the nationwide average increase per liter by about 0.85 yuan.
7. Wedbush’s latest report indicates that driven by surging demand and tight supply, prices of some stored products may increase by over 100%.
8. WuXi AppTec announced that its net profit in 2025 is expected to grow by 103% year-on-year, with a proposed dividend of 10 shares for every 15.79 yuan, and plans to use no more than 18 billion yuan of idle funds for cash management.
9. Sanhuan Group clarified that rumors predicting a net loss in 2025 are false.
10. Sanhua Intelligent Controls announced a 31.10% year-on-year increase in net profit for 2025, with a proposed dividend of 2.8 yuan per 10 shares; Fuxiang Pharmaceutical announced a projected net profit increase of 2223%-3250% in Q1, with core products VC, FEC, etc., seeing both volume and price rises.
11. Zhongda Mining announced plans to cooperate with Wanhua Battery Materials to build an annual 200,000-ton lithium salt project.
12. Zijin Mining announced that on March 23, it repurchased 21 million A-shares, costing approximately 642 million yuan.
13. Changyuan Donggu announced plans to acquire 100% equity of Xiangyang Kanghao Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, suspending trading from March 24.
14. Media reports say DJI has sued Ying Shi Innovation in the Intermediate People’s Court of Shenzhen over six patent ownership disputes, with several former DJI R&D personnel involved. Ying Shi Innovation issued a statement saying their R&D process is legal and compliant.
15. The Hang Seng Index closed down 3.54% on Monday, and the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 3.28%. Northbound funds had a net purchase of HKD 29.728 billion that day.
16. The three major US stock indices all closed higher on Monday: Dow Jones up 1.38%, S&P 500 up 1.15% and hitting its largest gain since February, Nasdaq Composite up 1.38%. Tech stocks rose broadly, with Broadcom up over 4%. Storage concept stocks declined, with Micron Technology down over 4%, Seagate and SanDisk down over 1%.
17. International oil prices plummeted on Monday, with US WTI and Brent crude both falling over 14% at one point. Previously, Trump delayed strikes on Iran’s power facilities and said his team was discussing ending the conflict, despite Iran’s repeated denials. WTI May futures closed at $88.13 per barrel, down 10.28%; Brent May futures closed at $99.94 per barrel, down 10.92%.
18. The swap market shows that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by 20 basis points this year, higher than the 8 basis points forecast last Friday, and compared to a 25 basis point cut predicted a week ago.
19. Federal Reserve Board member Milan said that there is currently no need to consider rate hikes, and the policy outlook remains for rate cuts, with four cuts expected in 2026.
20. Data shows that Iran war fears have triggered stagflation concerns, leading to a global bond value loss of over $2.5 trillion in March, likely the largest single-month decline in over three years.
21. Major natural gas processing plants in the UAE reportedly resumed operations, but due to inability to export through the Strait of Hormuz, LNG production remains at very low levels.
22. The U.S. ambassador to the EU warned that if the EU fails to approve the pending US-EU trade agreement, the EU could face higher tariffs.
23. Apple will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference from June 8-12, expected to unveil a series of critical AI features. A Morgan Stanley survey shows that driven by the Chinese market, consumer interest in buying iPhones has hit a new high since the survey began, but awareness and willingness to pay for Apple Intelligence have weakened.
24. Estée Lauder is in talks to acquire Spanish company Puig, aiming to create a beauty giant with annual sales of about $20 billion.

【Major Reminders】

① No new stock offerings today.
② The State Council Information Office will hold a press conference on March 24 regarding the 9th Digital China Construction Summit.
③ The Boao Asia Forum 2026 annual meeting will be held from March 24 to 27.
④ SEMI CON China Asian Compound Semiconductor Conference will be held on March 24.
⑤ Arm will hold a chip event on March 24.
⑥ DHL Logistics Summit will be held on March 24.
⑦ Today, Sanhua Intelligent Controls, Rongjie Shares, WuXi AppTec, and others will disclose their 2025 annual reports.
⑧ A 51 billion yuan 7-day reverse repurchase will mature today.
⑨ Data on March manufacturing PMI for the Eurozone will be released today.

【Overnight Global News】

Global Markets

1. International oil prices plunged sharply, with US WTI and Brent crude both falling over 14% at one point. Previously, Trump delayed strikes on Iran’s power facilities and said his team was discussing ending the conflict, despite Iran’s repeated denials. WTI May futures closed at $88.13 per barrel, down 10.28%; Brent May futures at $99.94, down 10.92%.
2. Trump’s remarks triggered volatility in metals markets, with silver recovering over 10% of its decline, gold prices narrowing previous sharp drops, and London copper reaching its largest two-month gain. By close, spot gold fell 1.99% to $4,407.89/oz; spot silver rose 2.02% to $69.16/oz; LME copper up 2% at $12,167/ton.
3. The three major US stock indices all closed higher: Dow up 1.38%, S&P 500 up 1.15% and its largest since February, Nasdaq up 1.38%. Tech stocks broadly rose, with Broadcom up over 4%. Storage stocks declined, with Micron down over 4%, Seagate and SanDisk down over 1%.
4. Most popular Chinese concept stocks closed higher: Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index up 0.86%, Livermore Chinese Concept Stock Leading Index up 0.05%, Xpeng Motors up 7.5%, NIO up 7%.
5. Hang Seng Index closed up 2.76% overnight at 25,020 points. Hang Seng Tech Index up 2.68% at 4,828 points. FTSE China A50 Index futures up 1.07% at 14,463 points.
6. Major European stock indices mostly rose: Eurostoxx 50 up 1.42%, UK FTSE 100 down 0.15%, France CAC40 up 0.79%, Germany DAX30 up 1.22%, Italy MIB up 0.81%.

Middle East Situation

1. U.S. President Trump told U.S. media on the 23rd that Iran “really wants to reach an agreement,” and the US and Iran “may reach an agreement within 5 days or even sooner.” Trump also said the U.S. has had “strong” dialogue with Iran and has formed key points of an agreement.
2. Iran’s Islamic Parliament Speaker, Kalibaf, posted on social media denying dialogue with the U.S. A senior Iranian official said Trump has no authority to set conditions or deadlines for negotiations. Iran and the U.S. have exchanged messages via Egypt and Turkey aimed at easing tensions, but the U.S. still refuses Iran’s two core demands: compensation and acknowledgment of Iran’s grievances.
3. Iranian President Raisi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz held a call, emphasizing the urgent need to de-escalate the Persian Gulf situation and conduct diplomatic mediation. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahrir Andarabi said that if both sides are willing to negotiate, Pakistan can provide a venue at any time.
4. Reports say thousands of U.S. Marines are scheduled to arrive in the Middle East on March 27, coinciding with the “final deadline” set by Trump for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
5. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israel continues to advance strikes on Iran’s missile and nuclear programs and also targets Hezbollah in Lebanon. Netanyahu also stated that Trump believes military gains from war could be leveraged to achieve all war objectives through negotiations.
6. Iran’s Fars News Agency quoted sources on the 23rd that the so-called Iran Islamic Parliament Speaker Kalibaf’s negotiations with the U.S. are completely false, and one purpose of fabricating this false news is to create conditions for assassinating Kalibaf.
7. Iran’s armed forces spokesperson said on the 23rd that Iran does not need to lay mines in the Persian Gulf. Iran controls the waters on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz and is managing the Strait in a “very wise and strong manner.”
8. An informed source revealed that less than 48 hours before the U.S. and Israel jointly launched strikes on Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had a phone call with President Trump. At that time, Trump had not yet decided when or under what circumstances the U.S. would intervene.

Global News

1. Goldman Sachs said that due to soaring oil and gas prices, the probability of a recession in the U.S. over the next 12 months has risen to 30%, up 5 percentage points from previous estimates.
2. Apple announced it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference from June 8-12, where it is expected to showcase a series of critical AI features. A Morgan Stanley survey shows that driven by the Chinese market, consumer interest in purchasing iPhones has reached a new high since the survey began, but awareness and willingness to pay for Apple Intelligence have weakened.
3. Federal Reserve Board member Milan said that there is currently no need to consider rate hikes, and the policy outlook remains for rate cuts, with four cuts expected in 2026. Fed official Daly stated that given the risks, the Fed needs to keep monetary policy flexible.
4. The Colombian military confirmed on the 23rd that a military transport plane crashed in southwestern Putumayo Province, carrying 114 soldiers and 11 crew members; 48 wounded have been rescued so far.
5. Italian Prime Minister Meloni admitted defeat in the judicial reform referendum.
6. Castle Securities stated that record short positions in the US stock market face liquidation risk, and the market may rebound. Hedge funds and systemic strategy funds are expected to become the main buyers in the next wave.
7. US fund Apollo has limited redemptions for a large private credit fund targeting retail investors, with redemption requests exceeding 11% on Monday.

This content involves information and data from public sources online, for reference only, and does not constitute investment advice.