Key Economic Calendar for the Week: China's GDP, Financial Street Forum & APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting, NVIDIA GTC, and Earnings Reports from Tesla, Meta, and CATL

【Answer 1】 Early-bird special price: ¥99 Be fully prepared for every important day. Overview of major economic events for the week of October 19–25 (all times in Beijing time): On the macro-policy front, China’s Q3 GDP release, the Financial Street Forum Annual Conference, and the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting will unfold concurrently. • On October 19, China will release its Q3 GDP data, along with September industrial output, retail sales (social consumption), real estate indicators, and other key economic figures. • Also on October 19, the Financial Street Forum Annual Conference opens, with Wu Qing and Zhu Hexin in attendance. China’s financial regulatory authorities will jointly unveil a series of reform policies. • The APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting is being held in Hong Kong for the first time, focusing on multilateral trade and sustainable finance—serving as a strong endorsement of Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center. On AI developments, Jensen Huang’s speech in Berlin is the biggest global variable this week. • NVIDIA’s GTC conference opens in Berlin; Jensen Huang delivers his keynote address on October 21. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with Huang on the evening of October 19, with discussions centered on concrete cooperation on AI industrial computing infrastructure in Germany—the new architecture and scale of collaboration warrant close attention. • Concurrently, the World Bank’s Global AI & Digital Summit (Seoul), Shanghai Bund Summit, and World Intelligent Connected Vehicle Conference are also taking place. Earnings season enters its peak for both U.S. and A+H stocks. • Netflix kicks off earnings on October 21; Tesla, Meta, and Lam Research follow on October 22. Meta’s AI capital expenditure guidance and Tesla’s vehicle delivery pace will directly set market sentiment. • On the A+H side, Q3 earnings reports from CATL, Cambricon, Hygon Information, China Mobile, and China Telecom are all due this week. Additionally, central banks across emerging and advanced economies hold frequent monetary policy meetings. • The Bank of Korea announces its interest rate decision; Bloomberg expects it to hold rates steady after two consecutive hikes. • Central banks of Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkey, Russia, and Switzerland also release decisions or meeting minutes during the same week. • On October 25, multiple European countries switch to winter time, shifting financial market trading hours and economic data releases one hour later versus summer time. Key Economic Indicators: • China’s GDP, fixed-asset investment, retail sales, real estate data, and home prices in 70 major cities — China releases Q3 GDP and September industrial output, retail sales, real estate data, etc., on October 19. — Zhang Yu, Chief Economist at Huachuang Securities, notes that Q3 economic performance may be slightly better than Q2. GDP is expected to rebound year-on-year to around 4.5%, primarily driven by stronger midstream production fueled by external demand. Domestic demand—investment, retail sales, and property sales—remains relatively weak. — In September, stabilization policies were intensified, government bond issuance accelerated, and construction sector expectations began recovering. The key focus for Q4 will be whether domestic demand improves under policy support—for example, infrastructure investment under the “Six Networks” initiative and property sales aided by subsidized loan programs. • Japan’s CPI and South Korea’s first 20-day October import/export data — Japan releases nationwide CPI for September on the morning of October 23; consensus forecasts expect headline inflation to rise to 2.1% y/y (prev. 1.9%). Tokyo’s core CPI already jumped to 2.7% in September; if nationwide inflation follows suit, it would reinforce market expectations for a Bank of Japan rate hike in December (the BOJ’s October 29–30 meeting is widely expected to hold). — South Korea releases its first 20-day October import/export data on October 21. — Semiconductors are expected to account for nearly half of exports, with HBM and DDR5 memory chips serving as primary growth drivers.

Tech Earnings Week Arrives, Global Equity Markets Under Pressure, Nasdaq Futures Down 0.2%, Oil Retreats, U.S. Treasuries Strengthen

【Answer 2】 The tech earnings season has officially begun, with global markets cautiously observing amid multiple overlapping uncertainties. Nasdaq-100 futures declined, Asian equities continued their downward trend, while oil retreated from a six-month high—providing some relief to markets. This week, tech giants including Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon released earnings reports; market participants are closely watching whether AI infrastructure spending can remain sustained. Meanwhile, both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan will announce interest rate decisions, likely triggering heightened volatility across global bond and foreign exchange markets. Pre-market U.S. equities: SK Hynix rose over 1%, announcing plans to distribute a special dividend of $12.1 billion—funded by proceeds from its sale of Kioxia shares—to shareholders. Brazil’s presidential election results also rattled markets. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva unexpectedly defeated right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro in Sunday’s runoff. A Brazil-focused ETF listed in Japan plunged up to 16% intraday, while CME foreign exchange derivatives implied a real-to-dollar depreciation exceeding 10%. Nick Twidale, Chief Market Analyst at AT Global Markets in Sydney, noted in a research report that market focus will shift “from geopolitical headlines—which have dominated price action for weeks—back to central bank policy and interest rate trajectories.” Pre-market U.S. equities: SK Hynix rose over 1%, announcing plans to distribute a special dividend of $12.1 billion—funded by proceeds from its sale of Kioxia shares—to shareholders. South Korea’s KOSPI closed down 1.45% at 5,469.59; Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% to 62,189.65; the Topix Index rose 0.2% to 3,972.98. European equities opened mixed: the STOXX Europe 50 rose 0.07% at the open; Germany’s DAX gained 0.28%; the UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.17%; France’s CAC 40 rose 0.60%. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note edged down 3 basis points to 4.97%, reflecting broad strength in U.S. Treasuries. Japan’s 10-year JGB yield fell 2 bps to 2.780%. Brent crude retreated 1.5% from its six-month high, trading at approximately $114.95 per barrel. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $4,008.18 per ounce. Bitcoin fell 0.6% to $79,916.76. AI-related trades remain under pressure, with chip stocks leading losses across Asian markets. A cooling sentiment toward AI-related investments is especially pronounced in Asia. South Korea’s KOSPI closed down 1.45% at 5,469.59, with AI-related stocks notably weak. Goldman Sachs strategists promptly cut their target for the KOSPI by 25%. Chinese AI model developers also softened—Moonshot’s launch of a new model triggered market reassessment of competitive dynamics. Japan’s market showed divergence. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.8% to 62,189.65, with semiconductor-related stocks dragging the index most severely—the worst-performing sector on the Nikkei this week. Yet the Topix Index rose 0.2% to 3,972.98. Overall, the MSCI Asia Index has now declined for four consecutive weeks—the longest losing streak since April this year.

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