Israeli Prime Minister NETANYAHU returned to Israel after concluding a US visit, landing at Nevatim Air Base.

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.

IRNA reported the Iranian military said successive strikes have severely damaged enemy forces' combat and logistics capabilities at a base in Bahrain.