LAVROV said Russia will not agree to the EU's call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, saying the bloc is merely trying to buy time.

Hang Seng Index futures opened the day session up 0.5% at 24,637, trading 195 points above the cash index.

Domestic bond market has strengthened YTD; pure-bond funds have delivered robust returns. Wind data as of Nov. 9 show several medium-to-long-term pure-bond funds, including Minsheng Jiayin Ruixia One-Year Open-Ended Bond and CITIC Prudential WenYue, are up more than 10% YTD. Fund manager Fu Yu said the fund's gains came from local government bond coupons, duration plays in rate bonds, leveraged carry and curve trades. From a valuation and crowding perspective, long-end yields are at historical lows and duration is crowded, which lowers reward-to-risk; a negative shock would likely amplify volatility. He views the bond market as structurally strong over the long run but expects near-term upside to slow, with greater chance of range-bound trading and pullbacks, reducing the attractiveness of chasing highs.