Bank of England Governor Bailey said UK domestic inflation has broadly slowed.

Four trade and industry sources said QatarEnergy has purchased 33 spot US LNG cargoes this year for shipment to Asia after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and Qatar declared force majeure on LNG exports. The volume far exceeds last year’s four cargoes and is intended to limit disruption to key customers and preserve Qatar’s reputation as a reliable global gas supplier. Sources said QatarEnergy invoked force majeure to relieve contractual obligations but still sought to maintain deliveries to some clients.

Middle East tensions rose and the Fed kept rates unchanged as expected; US major indices fell overnight while the China Golden Dragon index gained. After a three-day rally Hong Kong opened slightly higher; the Hang Seng opened +67 at 25,875, climbed to 25,971 (+163) then reversed to an intraday low of 25,695 (-112). At midday the Hang Seng was down 0.05% and the Hang Seng Tech index down 1.14%. Market turnover HKD 162.07 bln. Sector movers: mainland education, auto dealers and alcoholic beverages led gains; gaming software and mainland banks outperformed; oil & gas rebounded strongly. Memory/storage, newly listed AI-related stocks and PCB names extended yesterday’s losses; biopharma, brain–computer interface plays and CROs fell for a second day; power equipment and commercial space names pulled back. Notable stock moves: New Oriental (09901.HK) +17%, Budweiser APAC (01876.HK) +7%+, JD Logistics (02618.HK) and Laopu Gold (06181.HK) >+3%; Zhipu AI (02513.HK) -16%, Tianshu Zhixin (09903.HK) -10%, Zhongji Xuchuang (03308.HK) -7.3% on debut.