China A-shares were mixed at midday: Shanghai Composite +0.08%, Shenzhen Composite +0.41%, ChiNext +0.34%. Combined Shanghai/Shenzhen turnover stood at CNY 876.2 bln, down CNY 284.8 bln from the prior session. Breadth was positive with more than 4,000 stocks rising. AI-video names led gains, with iReader Technology and Chaoxun Technology among stocks hitting daily limit-up and other advancers including Zhidemai, Danghong Technology, Bona Film and Yinsai Group. Property stocks were active: Shenwu

All nine forecasters — Oxford Economics, Standard Chartered, Westpac, the Reuters survey, UBS, TD Securities, ANZ, ING and Commonwealth Bank — expect a 25bp Reserve Bank of Australia hike in September. Views on November diverge: UBS and ANZ expect another 25bp (UBS ties this to Q3 inflation surprising to the upside); Commonwealth Bank says September will pass unanimously with hawkish wording and that a Q3 trimmed‑mean inflation print ≥1% q/q could trigger a further hike; TD Securities and the Reuters survey see the cycle nearing its end and TD sees no urgent case for Nov/Dec moves; Westpac expects a split vote reflecting differing views on supply capacity and labour‑market slack. Drivers cited across forecasters are persistent inflation, a still‑tight labour market, higher oil prices and AI‑related demand, plus resilient growth, reinforcing upside policy risk.

日本外务省：鉴于当前围绕叙利亚的国际局势以及日本与叙利亚的双边关系，日本政府决定部分解除此前在阿萨德政权时期对叙利亚总统阿萨德及其相关人员等实施的资产冻结等措施。