Guojin Securities says China’s beauty sector is moving to refined, stock-based operations. 618 sales slipped slightly but mix improved; brands are shifting toward repurchase-driven growth and profit orientation. Upgraded categories such as color cosmetics and fragrances are the main sources of incremental demand. Policy now for the first time includes beauty subsidies, with targeted support for leading domestic and high-end efficacy brands. AI-driven, end-to-end cost reduction and efficiency gai

CITIC Securities says the latest Middle East oil-price shock is a second, larger shock after initial buffers were exhausted, not a repeat of the earlier, smaller move. Crowded trade structures differ materially between the two shocks, so market dynamics are unlikely to simply replay Q2. The war’s trajectory is increasingly unpredictable and the risk of prolonged conflict has risen, implying an inevitable near-term de-risking phase. However, volume, price and sentiment indicators show negative news has been largely priced into near-term, extreme declines and the de-risking process is close to completion. CITIC sees a high probability of broad, rotation-led repair in August and remains constructive on three convergence trades: narrowing excess returns between AI-chain upstream hardware and price-rally names versus downstream platform companies; compression of the valuation discount for domestic non-AI industrials versus overseas peers; and convergence between tech and non-tech sectors.

Wall Street Journal columnist James Mackintosh says SK Hynix’s US ADR has traded at a 16–51% premium to the Korea-listed shares since the ADR’s US listing two weeks ago, peaking at a 29% premium on July 24. He calls the gap a sign of overheated AI-related trading and notes conversion restrictions on the underlying Korea shares block ordinary arbitrage (buy Korea/convert to ADR/sell US), allowing the premium to persist. That structural impediment raises the risk of large losses for funds if the premium widens further — short positions or borrowed-stock hedges could be squeezed. By contrast, TSMC’s average US premium since the 2022 ChatGPT launch is ~15%, making SK Hynix’s current premium unusually elevated. Mackintosh cautions US ADR buyers are likely to incur losses unless Korea-listed shares rise; use of ADRs for financing would magnify those losses.