Hong Kong new-consumer concept stocks slid: Pop Mart (09992.HK) fell over 5%, Laopu Gold (06181.HK) dropped 3.4%, Mingming Hen Mang (01768.HK) fell nearly 3%; Mao Geping (01318.HK), Nayuki (02150.HK) and Miniso (09896.HK) each declined more than 2%.

Oct 21 — China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said it will actively advance cross‑strait health‑sector exchanges, backing multiple forms of cooperation to deepen integration between medical communities, with emphasis on exchanges among young physicians and medical students. It said it will refine policies benefiting Taiwanese on the mainland and address practical issues around medical education, licensing and operating medical institutions to promote closer health‑sector integration.

On Oct. 20 Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Russian forces struck energy infrastructure overnight into the morning, hitting Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Lviv, Odesa, Rivne, Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi oblasts and causing partial power outages. Some supply has been restored and repairs are underway. The ministry said Russia is continuing systematic, targeted attacks on energy facilities and that supply remains precarious in frontline and border areas. Repair work has been hindered by frequent air‑raid alerts and the risk of repeat strikes; grid operations are constrained and planned outages are being implemented to preserve system stability. Russia had no immediate comment.