US September food inflation, not seasonally adjusted, YoY 2.5% (prev. 2.7%).

China A-share medical services sector rose against the market trend; Berry Genomics and Baihua Pharma hit daily trading limits, while Wanbang Pharma, JOINN Laboratories, Puri Ophthalmology, Aoyang Health and Nanmo Biotech also advanced.

On Oct. 14 Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a regular briefing that a Heilongjiang provincial delegation recently visited Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, capital of Russia’s Sakhalin Oblast, for sister-province exchanges. In response to a KYODO question about reports the delegation had visited disputed islands (Russian Southern Kurils; Japanese Northern Territories), Mao said the visit was to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. She declined to comment on commercial activities by private firms during the trip.