China's ChiNext index widened losses to 2.00%; Shenzhen Composite down 1.71% and Shanghai Composite down 0.46%. PCB and CPO-related stocks led sector declines.

A-share broker sector has exited a prior lull, with rising activity and inflows. Market participants say the key shift is a breakdown of the old seesaw—broker rallies paired with tech pullbacks—after securities firms and hard-tech began rallying together. Investors are treating brokers as cheap proxies for hard‑tech exposure because many firms now hold stakes in hard‑tech via underwriting follow‑ons and direct equity investments, and the broker sector is trading at historically low valuations. That dynamic is driving a fresh value re‑rating in broker stocks.

Australian Treasurer Chalmers said Labor’s July fuel-excise cut has just passed parliament and will save about $11 per full tank. He said the measure is part of efforts to ease cost-of-living pressures, and a new round of tax cuts for all taxpayers starts Wednesday.