Japan Meteorological Agency said a magnitude-5.5 earthquake struck off Hachijo Island at about 21:02 local time on the 21st. Maximum seismic intensity was Shindo 3 and depth about 60 km. Tokyo reported felt shaking.

Hong Kong stocks rose into the close. Hang Seng Index +1.21% to 26,009.46; Hang Seng TECH Index +1.40% to 4,766.16. Market turnover HKD 257.28 bln. Sector leadership: large‑model AI plays, gold miners, batteries and insurers; crypto-related names active; livestock stocks weak. Top movers: Boya Interactive (00434.HK) +23.8%, Chifeng Gold (06693.HK) +12.4%, MINIMAX‑W (00100.HK) ~+12%, TTANQT LITHIUM (09696.HK) ~+12%, Zhipu AI (02513.HK) +>10%, Shandong Gold (01787.HK), 3SBio (01530.HK), Ganfeng Lithium (01772.HK) +>8%, Laopu Gold (06181.HK), Evergrande Property Services (06666.HK) +>7%. Decliners included Yingxi Intelligent (03696.HK) and CanSino Biologics (06185.HK) - >8%, 01952.HK -6.6%, Pop Mart (09992.HK) -3%, Alibaba (09988.HK) -2.5%.

SEAJ: Japan's July semiconductor manufacturing equipment billings rose 35.4% YoY.