SOUTHBOUND NET BUYING VIA STOCK CONNECT REACHED HKD9 BLN

- U.S. stock futures tumbled on Thursday after President Donald Trump indicated that the Iran war would continue, sending oil prices higher as well. - Trump delivered an address Wednesday night, providing updates on the Middle East conflict. Though he said that the U.S. is “getting very close” to ending the Iran war, Trump added that the nation would “hit” Tehran “extremely hard.” - His comments led to a surge in oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were last up 10% at above $110 per barrel, while Brent crude futures advanced 7% to above $109 a barrel. - Thursday marks the last trading day of the shortened week, as markets are closed for Good Friday. - US trade deficit rose 4.9% to $57.3 billion in February, below expectations, as both exports and imports increased - Initial US jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 202,000 in the week ended March 28, below forecasts - Layoffs at big U.S. companies rose 25% in March, with artificial intelligence most often cited as the reason, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday. - Asian markets closed lower across the board on Thursday, reversing gains after U.S. President Donald Trump’s address rattled investor sentiment. - Eight of the 11 GICS sectors traded higher on Wednesday. The session’s gains were led by the communication services and industrials sectors, each up 1.65%.

AT OPEN, HANG SENG -0.16%, TECH INDEX -0.49%, ALIBABA -1%