Taiwan's TAIEX opened down 205.23 points, or 0.45%, at 45,426.36 on Thursday, July 16.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the armed forces have made clear any aggression against Iranian territory will be met with an equivalent response. We currently have no plans to negotiate and are focused on defense. Memoranda of understanding are mutual commitments; if the other party breaches them, we will cease fulfilling our obligations, and the same principle will be applied going forward.

Japan plans to procure 27,500 NVIDIA (NVDA.O) next‑generation Rubin chips to develop a domestic foundational robot AI model. Newly formed Noetra has been allocated JPY 387.3 bln in government funding to run the project and build a large data centre. Noetra aims to release its first AI model by March next year and to iterate continuously, with a long‑term goal of launching robot‑specific models over the coming years. The programme is part of Tokyo’s push to reduce reliance on foreign technology and strengthen national security; the government targets capturing over 30% of a JPY 60 tln global robot market by 2040.