A-share 'Zhong' concept stocks saw pockets of afternoon strength. Zhongcheng Co. jumped to its daily limit; China Railway Assembly, Zhongshi Media, China Textile Standards, China Haicheng and COFCO Tech & Industry also rallied.

President Trump said he could have ended the war with Iran immediately but, at the request of Middle East countries he protects, adopted a slower, more restrained approach. He said Saudi Arabia asked him to 'temporarily' maintain the status quo, while Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain favored a 'waiting' strategy; he complied but said he was not sure he agreed. He added the US maintains good relations with those states and they are significant investors in the United States.

At its third-quarter results briefing, Huahong Hongli said it is active in silicon photonics and will expand its silicon-based share and product types for optical modules. Optical modules contain multiple chips; the company already produces some components in volume — including MCUs for modules, certain power-management ICs and power devices — and focuses on device/component-level supply rather than integrated system-level solutions. Huahong Hongli said it will continue to monitor non-silicon optical products.