EQUINOR CEO: EVEN WITH PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, IT WOULD TAKE ABOUT 6 MONTHS TO GET BACK TO NORMAL

China's ChiNext Price Index marks a nearly 11-year intraday high, supported by strong demand for technology stocks. Investors are positive on the AI capex upcycle, with more funding flowing into communication services and electrical-equipment stocks in 1Q, HSBC analysts say in a research note. "Strong earnings outlook bolsters the AI rally and evolving models, such as DeepSeek V4, should add further fuel," the analysts say. Among major stocks, CATL is 4.4% higher and East Money Information gains 2.65%.

China’s most active futures contracts open mostly higher, with silver, platinum and lithium carbonate up over 3%, cotton, tin and palladium up over 2%, and containerized freight index (Europe route) and cotton yarn up nearly 2%. On the downside, SC crude and fuel oil fall over 2%, while PX, BR rubber, bitumen and methanol drop over 1%.