【Economic Morning Brief | January 16, 2026】

1. U.S. stock indices reversed two consecutive declines, TSMC rose over 4% on strong earnings, driving chip stocks higher; ASML hit a record high, SanDisk jumped 5.5%; metals rally paused, gold, silver, copper, and tin dipped from record highs during the session; crude oil fell over 4%; offshore RMB rose above 6.97, marking the second day this week of a 20-month high.

2. The People's Bank of China decided to lower the rediscount and relending rates by 25 basis points, stating there is still room for further rate cuts and reserve requirement ratio reductions this year.

3. In 2025, China's total social financing scale increased by over 3.5 trillion yuan, with financing methods other than loans such as bonds accounting for over 50% of the increase; RMB loans increased by 1.627 trillion yuan.

4. China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation: In 2026, we will fully focus on breaking through reusable rocket technology.

5. Multiple Federal Reserve officials signaled support for holding rates steady this month.

6. The U.S. labor market remains resilient, with new jobless claims falling to 198,000 last week, the lowest since November last year.

7. Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities rebounded to a record high in November, Japan's holdings reached their highest in over three years, while China's holdings hit a record low since 2008.

8. Report: U.S. Congress parties jointly push for a $2.5 billion strategic reserve plan for critical minerals.

9. Reports indicate the Bank of Japan is increasingly concerned about inflationary effects caused by a weak yen.

10. Demand for AI chips remains strong, TSMC's Q4 net profit rose 35% year-on-year, significantly exceeding expectations; full-year 2025 capital expenditure reached $40.9 billion; at the earnings call, the company stated that capacity is extremely tight, and capital spending will significantly increase over the next three years, with the 2026 capital expenditure guidance raised substantially to up to $56 billion.

11. Vanke's 5.7 billion yuan medium-term note holder meeting proposal unveiled: includes four repayment plans, with up to 40% of principal possibly repaid on January 28.

12. Goldman Sachs' Q4 net revenue fell 3% year-on-year, but stock trading income broke a Wall Street record, and net profit grew 12% above expectations.

13. Driven by wealth management business, Morgan Stanley's Q4 net revenue rose 10% year-on-year, and bond underwriting income surged 93%.

14. Alibaba Qwen APP launch: Fully integrated with Taobao, Alipay, Taobao Flash Sale, and other Alibaba ecosystem businesses.