Aluminum Corp of China (2600 HK/601600 CH) Buy/Buy: Steady with no surprise China 1Q25 result review: Chalco reported NPAT of cRMB3.5bn in 1Q25 (+5% q-o-q and +59% y-o-y), in line with the company's profit alert. The strong 1Q25 result was attributed to better-than-expected sales volume and ASP for aluminium and alumina, improvement in operating expense, and gains in investment. Sales volumes largely held up in self-produced aluminium (-5% q-o-q) and alumina (+6% q-o-q), but revenue and gross profits slippe ...

25 April 2025 HKEX (388 HK) Buy: Purchase of permanent headquarter premises Purchase of new headquarters premises from Hong Kong Land (HKL): On 24 April, HKEX announced an agreement to purchase its permanent headquarters premises from HKL. The deal includes a consideration of HKD6.3bn and a commitment from HKL for enhancement works up to HKD400m for a total of 147,025 sq. ft. The purchase price is based on the carrying value of the property as of end- 2024. Based on a simplified calculation net of enhanceme ...

Metals Quarterly Q2 2025 Everything's "tariffic" Muddled outlook: Over the first several months of the year, the market has witnessed a range of views about metal prices – from optimism to pessimism to, perhaps, a new normal. One thing appears clear, however: uncertainty reigns. Tariffs have certainly taken center stage, and their potential impact will certainly play an important role in future policy actions, including change in direction of monetary policy. To stay on track for meeting its c5% GDP growth ...

US Restaurants Equities Defensive playbook warranted United States Escalating pressures, tempered outlook. On mounting macro headwinds, geopolitical uncertainty, and shifting consumer behaviors, we take a more measured view of the US restaurant sector outlook, lowering 2025-26e adjusted net earnings c4%, underpinned by: (1) Demand: US same-store sales (SSS) lower (average 2025-26e c90bp y-o-y) as affordability weighs on core lower-income consumers1 , but mitigated by premium trade- down from value-seeking h ...

Precious Metals Daily Commodities Gold hits USD3,500/oz and Global falls; can correct near term Precious Metals James Steel Chief Precious Metals Analyst HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. james.steel@us.hsbc.com +1 646 867 5600 Precious metals overview | | | Gold | Silver | Platinum | Palladium | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | prices USD/oz | AM fix | -- | -- | -- | -- | | | PM fix | 3,433.55 | 32.61 | 963.00 | 937.00 | | | Spot | -- | -- | -- | -- | | EFPs | Current | -- | -- | -- | -- | | Nymex speculat ...

This report must be read with the disclosures and the analyst certifications in the Disclosure appendix, and with the Disclaimer, which forms part of it. Utilities India Renewables shouldered a third of the demand growth in FY25. With total renewable (RE) capacity addition of c29GW in FY25 (c5GW in Mar-25), incremental RE contributed to c33% of the overall incremental demand raising its share in generation by 90bp in FY25 to 13.6%. Within renewables, Solar contributed to almost entire growth. Coal contribut ...

Asia Economics Comment Economics China and the 'tariff cascade' China Trade tensions between the US and China cast a wide shadow. Bilateral trade is bound to suffer, of course, even if tariffs may be rolled back under an eventual deal. However, the bigger issue for China, and arguably the world, is whether restrictions will also be imposed by other economies on Chinese imports. Two mechanisms are at play. One, competitive pressure from US-diverted Chinese shipments could raise protectionist demands. Two, th ...

16 April 2025 Equity Research Report China Semiconductor Equities Tariffs may bring about another "COVID-19" cycle China's latest import tariff rules imply strong localisation incentives and a better competition landscape ahead. According to the China Semiconductor Association, the 125% tariff on US goods (effective 12 April) applies to chips that are taped out in the US instead of the location of chip fabrication or packaging. We believe this policy will affect the chip sales of major US integrated device ...

China Coal Equities No relief on inventory issue China Recent update on market inventory: Coal inventory in the market, at historically high levels, has become the key drag on the coal spot price in China this year. In the past week, some in the market were relieved to see the inventory level at the northern ports (Bohai ring) come down below the 30mt the level. However, the majority of the previous stock had been diverted to ports in the Yangtze River, rather than shipped to end users (source: China 5e). A ...

14 April 2025 The evolution of trade Economics 50+ charts on how supply chains are reconfiguring Global trade has gone through some major structural shifts over the years and with supply chains squarely in focus amid sweeping US tariff announcements, further reconfiguration is inevitable. As will be obvious to readers, we cannot write about how trade flows have evolved without focusing in on China. A decade ago, China was involved in 13 out of the top 30 goods import corridors. Today, that number is 17. In ...