China's passenger vehicle (PV) market reported retail sales of 1.648 million units in March, down 15.0% YoY but up 59.4% MoM, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Among them, a total of 848,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) were retailed that month, down 14.4% YoY but up 82.6% MoM. In 1Q26, retail sales of NEVs dropped by 21.1% YoY to 1.908 million units.

Looking ahead to China's PV market in April, as NEVs continue to record high growth, competition in the mid-to-high-end segment is intensifying, while the economy electric vehicle segment is shrinking sharply. The CPCA warned that structural growth in the auto market may struggle to offset overall volume growth pressure.
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The steady start in early April provides support for the current share price levels of casino stocks, but is broadly neutral for the sector as a whole, mainly because the easy comparison base is coming to an end, coupled with geopolitical factors, Jefferies said in its research report.

Still believing premium operators should outperform the market in a slowing growth environment, Jefferies has reiterated WYNN MACAU (01128.HK) and GALAXY ENT (00027.HK) as its top picks. In contrast, it has recently downgraded Las Vegas Sands (LVS.US)'s rating to Hold, reflecting margin pressure arising from its strategic push into the premium mass segment.
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Regarding reports of US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer's remarks that he will launch working-level talks with Beijing, He Yadong, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, was asked at a regular press conference whether China has any plans for the continued delay of the rare earth export controls.

He said China announced relevant export control and other measures on October 9, 2025, with implementation suspended until November 10, 2026, according to the consensus reached during the China-US economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur. Both sides will continue to maintain communication on respective concerns through the economic and trade consultation mechanism.
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If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for one more month, Brent oil futures prices will average above US$100 per barrel this year, Goldman Sachs said.

International oil prices rebounded today (9th). Brent oil futures last elevated 2.51% to US$97.16 per barrel, while New York oil futures also leaped 3.53% to US$97.74 per barrel.

The situation is still rapidly changing, and saw that the risks to its oil price forecast as skewed to the upside, Goldman Sachs added.

However, at present, its base-case outlook assumes that energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz will gradually increase starting this weekend, with exports in the Persian Gulf recovering progressively to pre-war levels within one month. Under this scenario, Brent oil futures are forecasted to average US$82 per barrel in 3Q26 and US$80 per barrel in 4Q26.
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Tensions in the Middle East have recently driven crude oil prices toward the US%100 per barrel mark, Goldman Sachs published a research report saying.

The broker believed that oil prices will remain at high levels and raised its oil price forecasts, which may create additional revenue growth pressure for auto platforms with relatively high exposure to the traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) market. Moreover, competitive pressure persists.

Against this backdrop, Goldman Sachs turned more cautious on its covered China internet auto classified platforms, including TUHU-W (09690.HK), which was downgraded to Neutral, and Autohome (ATHM.US) (02518.HK), which was rated Neutral.

The broker lowered its 2026-2028 adjusted net profit forecasts for TUHU-W by an average of about 20%, reflecting the Company's more aggressive pricing strategy to gain market share, and reduced its gross margin forecasts by an average of about 2.2 ppts.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs took into account overall industry cost pressures and lower-than-expected gross margins in 2H25 on promotional campaigns. Therefore, the broker chopped its target price from $20.6 to $15.

Goldman Sachs reduced its 2026-2028 revenue forecasts for Autohome by 3%, and cut its adjusted net profit forecasts by an average of 6%, mainly due to downward revisions in media advertising and lead generation revenues amid weak ICE vehicle sales and less marketing budgets by automakers.

The broker dropped its target prices for Autohome's H-shares/ US stock from $39/ US$20 to $36/ US$18.7.
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Standard Chartered's energy and metals research team has issued a report predicting that the US-Iran two-week ceasefire deal may provide only limited support to the energy supply.

The team's analysts stressed that security concerns, elevated insurance premiums, and operational constraints mean that additional energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are unlikely to increase significantly.

Standard Chartered expects the average prices of Brent and New York oil futures to reach USD98 and USD92.5 per barrel in 2Q26.
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The US hopes European allies will provide concrete assurances on assisting to safeguard the security of the Strait of Hormuz, and asked these countries to present specific plans within days to ensure navigation through the waterway, Bloomberg quoted a senior NATO official as saying.

It is reported that US President Donald Trump raised the above request during a meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, as well as in discussions involving the Department of Defense and the Department of State.

Previously, more than 40 countries led by the UK, including many European countries, Japan and Canada, agreed to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz after the end of the war in the Middle East.
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Yushu Technology (Unitree Robotics) and BABA-W (09988.HK) are mulling an important overseas strategic cooperation, Chinese media reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Its latest robot model, R1, recently appeared at Alibaba Xixi Campus, in preparation for a new project named "Shu Maitong".

The project is reportedly slated to be officially unveiled at a brand conference in Shenzhen in mid-month. The cooperation is highly likely to be related to AliExpress, Alibaba's cross-border e-commerce platform, sources close to Alibaba were quoted in the report as analyzing.
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PONY-W (02026.HK), in partnership with autonomous mobility service provider Verne and global mobility platform Uber (UBER.US), commenced commercial Robotaxi operations in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, marking the first publicly available commercial Robotaxi service in Europe.

With immediate effect, residents of Zagreb can book rides via the Verne app, with the service to be integrated into the Uber app at a later stage.
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Citi has issued a research report initiating a 30-day upside catalyst watch on BEKE-W (02423.HK). Seeing that the company's share price underwent an adjustment in March, the broker based its decision on investors' misunderstandings regarding the company's new business model and pricing structure, market share, antitrust investigation, and the impact of AI, as well as the improved second-hand home transactions reported in core cities in March and early April.

According to the report, second-hand home transactions in Tier-1 cities grew by 1% YoY in March and have increased by 29% YoY since April. Citi is positive on the second-hand home transactions beating expectations, the total transaction value of first-hand home sales outrunning market expectations (a 40% YoY decline), operating expense savings from AI deployment, and profit contribution from home renovation and rental businesses.

Citi has kept a Buy rating on BEKE-W, with a target price of HKD68.
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In its report, Morgan Stanley estimated the cloud growth of BABA-W (09988.HK) to sustain, with growth in 4FQ projected to exceed 40%, accelerating from 36% in 3FQ. Meanwhile, CMR mounted 7% YoY on an like-for-like basis, notably faster than the 1% growth in 3FQ. The broker believed the cloud acceleration is a key share price catalyst and regarded Alibaba as its top pick.

Based on expectations of widening losses in "other businesses", Morgan Stanley chopped its adjusted EBITA forecasts for FY26 and FY27 by 7% and 12%, respectively. However, it maintained its USD180 target price for Alibaba (BABA.US) in the US. The rating was Overweight.
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The US-Iran 14-day ceasefire deal announced before the opening of Asian markets on Wednesday (8th) triggered a sharp rebound in Asian equities, a nosedive in Brent oil prices, and a weakening of the dollar, said David Chao, Global Market Strategist for Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) at Invesco.

However, Chao added that geopolitical uncertainties haven't been completely eliminated. To sustain this round of risk-on rally, the US, Iran, and Israel have to turn the temporary ceasefire into a long-lasting peace.

Regarding the market outlook, Chao remains cautiously optimistic, but he reminded that investors should be mindful of numerous unresolved complexities before achieving a permanent peace. As the US and Iran still disagree on several key issues, future negotiations are bound to be challenging, and whether a comprehensive agreement can ultimately be reached remains highly uncertain.

On the economic front, the market is most concerned about whether the Strait of Hormuz can resume navigation as pledged by Iran, Chao noted. Under Iran's proposal, the country has committed, subject to technical constraints, to coordinate with its armed forces to provide security arrangements for vessels, implying that shipping volumes may not quickly return to pre-conflict levels even if ships begin passing through the strait in the coming two weeks. Given the persisting geopolitical risks, oil prices are expected to hover at elevated levels.
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China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) announced on Thursday (9th) that the central parity of USD/ RMB added 31 bps from the previous day to 6.8649.
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Amid tensions in the Middle East, the Hong Kong government has assessed that if it rashly implements long-term support measures and oil prices subsequently drop rapidly, it would impose a heavy burden on the treasury, according to Ta Kung Pao.

Therefore, the government planned to establish a cross-departmental response team to dynamically monitor oil price movements, enabling swift allocation of resources and the timely introduction of measures to address the impact caused by oil price fluctuations.

After the US and Iran reached a two-week ceasefire agreement, international oil prices fell sharply. However, given that the situation remains highly uncertain, oil prices rebounded this morning (9th). New York oil futures leaped 3.9% to US$98.11 per barrel, while Brent oil futures also ballooned 3% to US$97.63 per barrel.
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HUTCHMED (00013.HK) announced that new and updated data from several studies of compounds discovered by HUTCHMED will be presented at the upcoming American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, taking place on April 17-22, 2026 in San Diego, California.
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In the first six days of April, China's passenger vehicle market retailed a total of 86,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), down 24% YoY but up 3% MoM, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Meanwhile, the NEV wholesale volume from manufacturers amounted to 73,000 units, down 39% YoY or 14% MoM.
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The five-week US-Iran conflict has briefly de-fused after US President Donald Trump announced a two-week pause on attacks against Iran. Oil prices plunged 16%, sparking a sharp uptick in US bourse Wednesday.

The DJIA mushroomed 1,325 points, or 2.9%, to close at 47,909, marking its best single-day performance since April 2025. The S&P 500 climbed 165 points, or 2.5%, to 6,782. The Nasdaq rallied 617 points, or 2.8%, to 22,634.

Semiconductor manufacturing stocks advanced, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH.US) jumping up more than 5%. Intel (INTC.US) soared 11%, making it the best-performing Nasdaq 100 constituent of the day. Broadcom (AVGO.US) shot up 5%, whereas Micron (MU.US) spiked 7.7%.

Airlines skyrocketed on the back of ebbing oil prices and the pause in hostilities. Delta Air Lines (DAL.US) delivered 1Q earnings beat, though its full-day gain narrowed to 4%. American Airlines (AAL.US) also pared back earlier gains but still ascended 5%. United Airlines (UAL.US) advanced 8%.

Meta (META.US) launched its first AI model, Muse Spark, with plans to introduce a subscription model in the future. Its shares swelled nearly 7%, rendering it the strongest performer among the "Magnificent Seven". Alphabet (GOOG.US) and Amazon (AMZN.US) each mounted 4%. Nvidia (NVDA.US) rose more than 2%. Tesla (TSLA.US) bucked the market uptrend, down 1%.

Both New York oil futures and Brent oil futures busted below USD100, dragging energy stocks lower. Exxon Mobil (XOM.US) declined 5%, and Chevron (CVX.US) sagged more than 4%.
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The US and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire agreement. The White House announced on Wednesday that US Vice President JD Vance will lead a delegation to Pakistan later this week to begin talks on reaching a long-term peace agreement with Iran.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, will also participate in the negotiations. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Islamabad on Saturday morning.
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EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change for Apr/03 in the United States is 3.081M, lower than the previous value of 5.451M. The forecast was 0.7M.~



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