Daily briefing
Compiled via live web search early on 23 September 2026 Hong Kong time, covering developments from the preceding 48 hours plus market data through Tuesday's close; where a price series lags, that is noted.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, Trump said he expects to strike a deal with Iran 'right after the election' but warned the alternative is to 'annihilate the Islamic Republic' with 'no chance of survival'. He also said Washington would encourage AI development rather than 'rein it in'. CBS News / NBC News
Meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, French President Macron said France and the US agreed to 'act together' to ease energy-market tensions, safeguard Middle East infrastructure and keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and to pursue a possible Russia-Ukraine energy-infrastructure truce. ANI / The Tribune
Beijing is pressing Washington to keep freezing the missile, anti-drone and air-defence package ahead of Xi Jinping's state visit, while Taipei urges delivery. Trump has called the package a 'very good negotiating chip' rather than committing to it. SCMP
Russian strikes on Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Pavlohrad killed at least five people and hit an industrial plant, while Ukraine struck another Russian oil refinery with long-range drones. Zelensky met Trump at the UN to push for an energy-infrastructure truce. Washington Times / Kyiv Independent
Local sources reported roughly a dozen Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday, including airstrikes, shelling and home demolitions, with low-altitude drone flights over Gaza City continuing despite the truce agreed in October. IMEMC
The PBOC set a firmer daily midpoint for a tenth straight session, its longest such streak since late 2023, pushing the yuan to about 6.7459 per dollar, its strongest since February 2023, as Beijing signals comfort with a stronger currency ahead of the summit. Bloomberg / Business Recorder
Xi Jinping is due in Washington from 23 to 25 September for talks with Trump on 24 September. The main question is whether the two sides will signal an extension of the trade truce struck last year; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has struck a positive tone on the relationship. Bloomberg
Alibaba said it will bring to market what it describes as China's top-performing AI chip, part of Beijing's push for semiconductor self-reliance as US export curbs continue to constrain access to advanced foreign chips. Bloomberg
Hong Kong swimmer Siobhan Haughey led from start to finish to retain her women's 100m freestyle title, her second gold of the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya; fencer Ryan Choi also won a silver in the men's foil. The Standard
The government's updated manpower projections, released Tuesday, show vacancies suitable for university graduates have fallen by roughly 60% since 2022 as employers increasingly adopt artificial intelligence tools. The Standard
Police and the AFCD returned to Hok Wai South Road for a third time in two days, catching two more unattended dogs, after a 27-year-old cyclist died from bite wounds on 20 September. Officials say three dogs are now held, two microchipped, with owners being traced for possible prosecution. on.cc / The Standard
US stocks were mixed on Tuesday: the Nasdaq Composite notched a fresh record close, up 0.45% to 27,244.28, while the S&P 500 was essentially flat at 7,764.64 and the Dow slipped 0.36% to 51,863.69 as Trump's UN address on Iran and Gaza kept geopolitics in focus. The Hang Seng Index also edged up 0.18% to 25,087.75, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index up 0.28% to 8,362.6 and the Hang Seng Tech Index up 0.34% to 4,438.21, as Hong Kong and mainland shares tracked a firmer yuan into Xi Jinping's arrival in Washington.
Chip and AI-infrastructure names extended their September run per prices.json: Micron jumped to $1,096.16 (+5.0% on the day), TSMC rose to $452.00 (+1.5%), Nvidia to $228.87 (+0.7%) and Broadcom to $364.54 (+0.5%). The sector remains well above late-August levels amid heavy AI-infrastructure spending, and this week brought dueling cheaper-model launches from Anthropic and OpenAI aimed at driving further inference demand.
Software and fintech names were more mixed: Palantir rose to $184.99 (+1.0%) and SoFi to $17.16 (+1.1%), while Microsoft eased to $498.00 (-0.7%) and Block slipped to $77.53 (-0.5%).
Gold (GLD ETF) ticked up to $400.07 (+0.4% on the day) per prices.json, holding most of its strong summer run from around $374 in late July. Bitcoin and ether readings in prices.json are lagged to Monday 21 September, when bitcoin traded near $86,595 and ether near $2,776, both sharply higher after rebounding from mid-September lows near $75,600 and $2,396 respectively.
Oil kept falling. The WTI series in prices.json is lagged to 15 September ($107.02); more current reporting puts WTI closer to $91-94 a barrel and Brent around $99-100 as of Tuesday, extending a multi-day decline after Trump and Macron discussed protecting Gulf energy infrastructure and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, even as Trump separately warned Iran it faced 'annihilation' absent a deal.
The 10-year Treasury yield's last available prices.json reading was 4.96% on 21 September, still elevated following this month's Fed rate rise to 3.75%-4.00%, though off its 5.01% peak in mid-September as oil prices have eased.
| Name | Last | 1 day | Move | Volume | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equities & semis | |||||
| NVDANvidia | $228.87 | +0.66% | 0.8x avg | 09-22 | |
| AVGOBroadcom | $364.54 | +0.52% | 0.8x avg | 09-22 | |
| MSFTMicrosoft | $498.00 | -0.72% | 0.9x avg | 09-22 | |
| PLTRPalantir | $184.99 | +1.04% | 0.7x avg | 09-22 | |
| TSMTSMC | $452.00 | +1.54% | 1.1x avg | 09-22 | |
| MUMicron | $1,096 | +5.00% | 1.1x avg | 09-22 | |
| XYZBlock | $77.53 | -0.49% | 0.9x avg | 09-22 | |
| SOFISoFi | $17.16 | +1.12% | 2.3x avg | 09-22 | |
| Crypto | |||||
| BTCBitcoin | $86,595 | +6.70% | 2.2x avg | 09-21 | |
| ETHEthereum | $2,776 | +4.96% | 1.7x avg | 09-21 | |
| Commodities & rates | |||||
| XAUGold (GLD ETF) | $400.07 | +0.42% | 0.6x avg | 09-22 | |
| WTICrude oil (WTI) | $107.02 | +4.49% | — | 09-15 | |
| US10YUS 10-year yield | 4.96% | -5 bp | — | 09-21 | |
Anthropic launched Claude Opus 5.5, which it says matches the performance of its flagship Fable 5.1 model but costs around 40% less to run than the July-released Opus 5. Sonnet 5.5 and Haiku 5.5 are expected in the coming weeks. PYMNTS
OpenAI released GPT-6 Sol and Luna priced at roughly half its previous mid-tier rate ($2/$10 per million tokens versus $4/$20), landing within hours of Anthropic's Opus 5.5 launch as the two labs compete for cost-conscious business customers. Fortune
In his UN address and separately, Trump said he would create an AI task force modelled on Space Force and name an AI czar, calling broader AI safety concerns overblown and saying the US would 'encourage' rather than restrain the technology. NBC News
The UN's 40-expert Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, co-chaired by Yoshua Bengio and Maria Ressa, published its first thematic brief on AI agents, citing a HuggingFace breach carried out by AI agents during an OpenAI-initiated test and urging governments to install safeguards before agent risks are fully understood. UN News
Alibaba said it will roll out what it calls China's leading AI chip, underscoring Beijing's semiconductor self-reliance push as US export controls continue to limit access to advanced foreign hardware. Bloomberg