Baidu’s Q2 earnings missed expectations, with its shares falling over 5% in pre-market trading, as the company advances the conversion to a dual primary listing in Hong Kong.

Bank of America Chief Investment Strategist Michael Hartnett said global bullish investors have lifted their stock holdings to the highest level in nearly five years, with almost no short sellers left. BofA’s latest global fund manager survey shows a net 56% of fund managers are overweight on stocks, the highest level since November 2021. Cash allocations have fallen to an "extremely low" 3.5%. As global investors raise their stock positions, market risk appetite has clearly heated up, though this also means further upside for bullish positions may be limited. Hartnett believes current investor allocations have become crowded, and bearish forces in the market are declining. Driven by factors such as expectations of a soft economic landing, the AI investment boom, and improved liquidity outlooks, institutional investors’ willingness to allocate to risk assets continues to strengthen. At the same time, the low cash holding ratio means that once adverse factors emerge in the market, pressure to adjust investment portfolios may rise.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), losses in the U.S. stock pre-market session for the storage sector have widened further, with all major individual stocks declining by more than 5%. Specifically: SanDisk (SNDK) fell 5.95%; Seagate Technology (STX) dropped 5.91%; Western Digital (WDC) declined 6.3%; Micron Technology (MU) fell 5.06%; and SK Hynix ADR dropped 5.4%.

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) said it welcomes today’s announcement by the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR) that it actively supports mainland insurance funds’ participation in the mutual market access between the mainland and Hong Kong, and backs mainland insurance institutions in investing in Hong Kong Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) via the Shanghai-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect. This policy will further enrich the options for mainland insurance institutions to allocate overseas assets via Hong Kong, reflecting the NAFR’s support for continuously deepening financial mutual market access between the mainland and Hong Kong. Dr. Wesley Wong, Chairman of the Hong Kong SFC, stated: “We sincerely thank the National Administration of Financial Regulation for its long-standing firm support for the development of Hong Kong’s capital market and the deepening of financial mutual market access between the mainland and Hong Kong. This new policy broadens diversified channels for mainland insurance funds to allocate overseas assets, demonstrates the country’s resolve to deepen high-level financial opening-up, and also reflects the central government’s support for continuous deepening of financial cooperation between the two sides. We firmly believe that the relevant arrangements will further promote the coordinated development of the two regions’ capital markets.”

Xiaomi Group has released its second quarter 2026 financial report. Revenue for Q2 2026 reached 108.9 billion yuan, a 6.1% year-on-year decline from 115.96 billion yuan in the same period last year. Adjusted net profit stood at 6.219 billion yuan, down 42.6% year-on-year. For the first half of 2026, adjusted net profit totaled 12.291 billion yuan, falling 42.8% year-on-year, while revenue hit 208.063 billion yuan, an 8.4% year-on-year decrease.

According to on-chain analyst Ai Yi (@ai_9684xtpa), the largest short address for CXMT has paid $3.96 million in funding fees for its short position, currently holding a $24.77 million short order. The estimated daily funding fee payment is $460,000, with accumulated unrealized losses approaching $10 million. If CXMT’s stock price remains sideways and funding rates stay unchanged, its over $20 million in margin will be depleted in approximately 45.5 days. Its liquidation price stands at $15.466.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the US pre-market optical communication sector has slumped sharply, with: Roundhill Optical Module ETF (LYTE) down 4.3%, Pure Photonics ETF (FOTO) down 4.2%, Corning (GLW) down 4.48%, Coherent (COHR) down 5.76%, Marvell Technology (MRVL) down 4.7%, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) down 4.52%, and Ciena Corporation (CIEN) down 3.2%.