(1) Stock Market News

‧ US Market

The US market closed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average at 40,936 points, down 626 points or 1.51%; the S&P 500 fell by 2.12% to 5,528 points; 

the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 3.26% to 17,136 points; the Golden Dragon Index, which reflects the performance of Chinese concept stocks, slid by 0.86%.

‧ Hong Kong Market

The Hang Seng Index closed at 17,651 points, down 40 points or 0.2%, with a trading range of 141 points, marking two consecutive trading days of decline. 

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell by 8 points or 0.1%, closing at 6,203 points. The Hang Seng TECH Index closed at 3,496 points, up by 10 points or 0.3%. 

The total turnover for the day was HKD 79.315 billion.

‧ Mainland Market

The Shanghai Composite Index closed at 2,802 points, down by 8 points or 0.29%, with a turnover of RMB 252.782 billion. 

The Shenzhen Component Index closed at 8,268 points, up by 95 points or 1.17%, with a turnover of RMB 327.818 billion. 

The CSI 300 Index stood at 3,273 points, up by 8 points or 0.26%; the ChiNext Index was at 1,556 points, up by 19 points or 1.26%.

(2) Economic News

‧ UBS Wealth Management downgraded its rating on Chinese stocks from "most favored" to "neutral," citing a slowdown in China's economy and increased geopolitical risks.

‧ The government's statistical office announced that the port's cargo throughput in the second quarter of this year increased 

by 2.9% year-on-year, reaching 45.8 million tons. Among them, the arrival and departure of port cargoes increased by 0.9% and 6.5%

 year-on-year, respectively, to 28.6 million tons and 17.2 million tons.

‧ Hang Seng Indexes Company stated in a blog post that index targets are typically estimated from a top-down perspective, 

involving the forecast of forward multiples, such as the overall market's price-to-earnings ratio. However, they can also be estimated

 from a bottom-up approach to aggregate the potential for target price increases of index constituents. The company said that, 

according to Bloomberg's stock target prices, as of the end of August this year, the Hang Seng Index, Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, 

and Hang Seng TECH Index's bottom-up estimated index targets are calculated at 22,621 points, 7,962 points, and 4,767 points, respectively, 

implying that under a basic scenario, the indices have potential upside of 26%, 26%, and 34%, reflecting a more positive and optimistic outlook for market indices.

‧ Jiang Jing, an economic expert at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (Hong Kong), stated that the United States 

will start an interest rate cut cycle in September, with another cut in November, totaling a 50 basis point reduction by the end of the year. 

Regarding Hong Kong's interest rates, it is expected that the Prime Rate (P) will not immediately follow the cut. Currently, Hong Kong's liquidity 

is relatively abundant, coupled with weak loan demand, the downward adjustment of Hong Kong's Prime Rate is limited. If the Federal Reserve 

cuts interest rates by 50 to 100 basis points within the year, it is expected that the Hong Kong P will follow suit with a decrease of 25 to 37.5 basis points.

(3) Corporate News

‧ China Communications Construction (01800) reported that its first-half revenue only met 44% of its annual target. The management believes 

that this is basically in line with expectations and is confident that the revenue growth will accelerate in the second half of the year, still achieving 

the annual target. Wang Haihuai, President of China Communications Construction, said: "Overseas large-scale projects, new projects, their cash flow, 

payment is relatively good, can exert force, try to increase revenue as much as possible. Another point that needs to be clarified is that the debt reduction

 in 12 provinces has had a certain impact on our revenue. Now, with the issuance of national debt, treasury bonds, and policy interest rates, 

this impact is expected to weaken in the second half of the year."

‧ Noel Quinn, the newly appointed Chief Executive of HSBC Holdings (00005), stated that he will focus on consolidating the bank's current strategy 

and aims to accelerate strategic development to achieve sustainable revenue growth, while maintaining prudent risk management and cost control.

‧ Rating agency Standard & Poor's upgraded the outlook for Xiaomi Group (01810). S&P confirmed Xiaomi's long-term credit rating as "BBB-" 

and raised the outlook from "stable" to "positive," mainly due to the resilience of Xiaomi's core business and clearer spending on electric vehicles.