ECB President Lagarde: Middle East remains fragile despite a peace agreement.

Hong Kong stocks at midday: Hang Seng Index down 0.98%, Hang Seng Tech Index down 1.35%. Half-day turnover on the Hang Seng reached HKD 200.339 bln. Sector winners included storage, semiconductors, optical communications, insurers and coal; laggards were commercial aerospace, gold, beverage chains and autos. Notable movers: Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (06869.HK) +27%; Zhipu (02513.HK) +17%; 02676.HK +16%; GigaDevice (03986.HK) +11%; CATL (03750.HK) and China Life (02628.HK) +5%+. Decliners: Lingbao Gold (03330.HK) -10%; Junda (02865.HK) -8%; Longfor Group (00960.HK) -7%; Geely Auto (00175.HK) -6%.

Karen Young, researcher at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, said a conflict involving Iran is exerting irreversible pressure on the oil sector and has pushed major economies to evaluate energy options outside the Middle East. "Countries are now more focused on energy security and therefore seek to diversify oil supplies and energy resources. In many regions this will mean a shift to renewables, especially in transport and electric vehicles," she said. Young warned the shift will reshape power-generation mixes and reduce the scale of gas sourced from the Middle East as countries rely more on domestic and accessible resources. "The key is not to depend on any single source, especially oil, or any single type of fuel," she added.