SMBC Nikko Securities estimates in a July 3 report that if Japan Exchange Group raises Kioxia’s free-float from 15% to 50%, the company’s TOPIX weight would more than double to 2.678% at the October rebalancing, triggering roughly ¥3tn (~$18.5bn) of passive buying. The needed purchases would be roughly equivalent to the stock’s 30‑day ADV. SMBC calls the inflow size unprecedented and says implementation may be phased to limit market impact. Additional passive demand could support Kioxia shares,

Industry data show China’s lithium‑battery scheduled output (energy storage + EV powertrain + consumer) in July 2026 was about 283GWh, up 5.6% MoM. Energy‑storage cell output accounted for 42.9%. Global scheduled lithium‑battery output was 296GWh, up 5.3% MoM. This is the fifth consecutive month of record highs. June–July are normally a seasonal trough, but scheduling has continued to rise; industry sources say the increase reflects a structural upgrade in demand as global lithium‑battery demand broadens from NEV‑led to multi‑pillar growth.

HKEX said its US-dollar gold futures recorded 6,676 contracts in the daytime session, a record above the prior high of 3,039 contracts on 7 Nov 2022. Active-month bid-ask spreads tightened to 1–2 ticks; the August contract traded as tight as $0.01 (one tick), the December contract at two ticks. HKEX said product-optimization measures drew banks, securities firms, high-frequency traders, trading houses, gold producers and gold-consuming companies. The exchange called the move part of efforts to expand its gold product suite and deepen a multi-asset ecosystem to support Hong Kong’s development as an international gold trading and storage center.