South Korea's KOSPI opened down 96.78 points, or 1.2%, at 7,954.55 on Tuesday, July 7; Samsung Electronics fell 3% and SK Hynix fell 1%.

German factory orders rose 1.9% MoM in May, after April was revised to -3.2%, beating a market forecast of +1.1%. The increase was driven by transport equipment orders, including military contracts, suggesting defense procurement is supporting demand. Excluding large one-off orders, new orders rose 1.0% MoM. The three-month rolling series fell 0.2%. Germany’s economy ministry said manufacturing new orders appear to be reverting to the H2 uptrend seen last year but remain highly volatile due to large orders, and geopolitical uncertainty will stay elevated until US‑Iran talks conclude.

Hong Kong Gold Central Clearing and Settlement System began trial operations today. Under a January cooperation agreement, the Hong Kong Treasury Bureau and the Shanghai Gold Exchange launched the first phase of “physical connectivity.” The Hong Kong gold settlement company has applied to become an international member of the Shanghai Gold Exchange and opened a physical-gold account; participants can deposit held physical gold into the Shanghai exchange international board’s Hong Kong-designated vault. Bi-directional transfers will allow firms to access the Shanghai on-exchange market and Hong Kong OTC market, enabling physical gold flows between the two systems.