A-share coal sector weakened in choppy trade; Dayou Energy fell more than 8%, with Yunmei Energy, Antai Group, Huadian Energy, Shaanxi Black Cat and Baotailong also sliding.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on the 23rd found 52% of Americans say the US military action against Iran launched at the end of February was not worth it; President Trump’s approval fell to 34%, his lowest in his second term. About 35% said the US is weaker on Iran than before the conflict; the US and Iranian presidents on the 17th signed a memorandum of understanding to begin 60 days of talks toward a final agreement, but 63% said the MoU is unlikely to produce lasting peace while 18% said it is likely.

Huatai Securities says market fears of 2027–28 overseas electrolytic aluminium capacity additions—focused on Indonesia, India, Angola and Saudi Arabia—are overstated. Accounting for China's domestic capacity ceiling, uncertainty over overseas power infrastructure and supply-demand modelling, Huatai judges current forward pricing too pessimistic and expects overseas forward supply-demand to remain at a tight balance. If global power constraints worsen and AI-related new demand scales up, the market could move into a material shortfall. On costs, Huatai expects the full-cost midpoint at high-cost smelters to continue rising and estimates a 2027–28 overseas spot aluminium floor (including spot premiums) above $3,000/t, roughly ¥22,000/t domestically. Current equity market pricing for the aluminium sector is materially below those support levels, implying valuations may be depressed.