Finance Morning | September 21, 2026: Asia Stocks Rise on US-China Talks Optimism; ByteDance Buys Beijing Land for 8.7 Billion Yuan

📊 Today's Asian Markets

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Asia Stocks Rise as US-China Talks Send Positive Signals

Source: Lianhe Zaobao

Asia-Pacific stocks mostly advanced on September 21, lifted by positive signals from high-level US-China talks and a fourth straight daily decline in international oil prices. Singapore's Straits Times Index reversed early losses to close up 19.12 points, or 0.34%, at 5,675.23.

Technology and semiconductor shares led the gains and lifted risk appetite. Seoul and Taiwan were the standouts, rising 1.65% and 1.14% respectively, while Sydney edged down 0.04%. Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong stocks also moved higher, with the Shanghai Composite, Shenzhen Component and Hang Seng Index all closing up.

Phillip Securities senior investment analyst Hu Yuxuan said the expected Trump-Xi meeting this week, along with the two sides agreeing to set up an AI dialogue mechanism, further boosted sentiment. FSM Global senior research analyst Hu You noted that South Korea's exports in the first 20 days of September surged 78% year-on-year, while Singapore's August non-oil domestic exports jumped 46.2%, underscoring the region's tech and electronics resilience. She said the week's focus falls on the September 24 US-China leaders' summit.

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ByteDance Spends 8.7 Billion Yuan on Land This Year

Source: 21st Century Business Herald

On September 21, two commercial land plots in Beijing were sold, in Chaoyang and Dongcheng districts, for a combined 5.913 billion yuan. The plot in the south zone of the Olympic Park in Chaoyang was won at a base price of 2.613 billion yuan by Beijing Yunrui Changshi Technology, whose ultimate controller is ByteDance.

According to public information, this is ByteDance's third land plot this year, bringing the total cost of the three plots to about 8.7 billion yuan. In early February, its unit Beijing Yunyue Changshi Technology acquired a plot in Haidian's Lanjing Lijia area for about 2.8 billion yuan; on March 30, Beijing Yunxiu Changshi Technology won a plot in Shuangquanbao, Haidian, for about 3.305 billion yuan.

Beyond Beijing, ByteDance has acquired multiple plots in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Xiamen in recent years, spending nearly 30 billion yuan in total, making it the most active internet company in land acquisition. Analysts note that the commercial property market is in a downcycle and prime industrial land in core cities is at historical lows, allowing tech firms to convert long-term rent into fixed-cost quality assets.

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Vanke, Greenland Hit Limit-Up For a Second Day; More Good News for Real Estate?

Source: 21st Century Business Herald

On September 21, Vanke A and Greenland Holdings touched the daily limit-up during the session. Vanke A ended at 3.65 yuan per share, up 9.94%, while Greenland closed at 1.6 yuan, up 10.34%. Both stocks have now hit the limit-up for two consecutive trading days.

Other A-share property stocks kept rising: Financial Street gained 9.92%, Poly Developments rose 6.77% and China Merchants Shekou added 4.38%. In Hong Kong, leading developers such as China Resources Land, China Overseas Land & Investment and Yuexiu Property posted modest gains, with Sunac China up more than 9%.

Market chatter recently pointed to the first set of presale-system rules following a local “828” policy, with 17 articles covering installment payment of land premiums over two years, a clear old-new cutoff for presale housing, and allowing large projects to be split. Chen Xueqiang, research head of the China Index Academy's Guangzhou branch, said the presale model raises developers' upfront funding pressure, and deferred land payments can effectively ease their short-term cash burden.

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Everyone Fears CATL Is Winning Too Much

Source: 21st Century Business Herald

In the first half of this year, the combined revenue of 14 mainstream automakers reached 1.47 trillion yuan, with total net profit attributable to shareholders of about 18 billion yuan, a net margin of only around 1.22%. Over the same period, CATL's net profit rose 41.98% to 43.28 billion yuan, more than all 14 automakers combined.

According to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance, CATL's domestic passenger-vehicle installation share reached 46.7% in the first half, roughly equal to the combined share of the second through tenth players. Amid the unusual pattern of strong earnings but a falling share price, CATL's market value shed about one-third within four months.

CAAM data show the auto manufacturing sector posted revenue of 5.19 trillion yuan in the first half, up 1.8% year-on-year, while total profit fell 19.5% to 195.35 billion yuan, a margin of just 3.8%. The imbalance in profit distribution across the supply chain has drawn attention, prompting automakers to cut costs through supplier diversification, in-house chip design and parts standardization.

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Northeast China's Largest IPO Draws Regulators Two Days After Listing

Source: 21st Century Business Herald

In the pre-open auction on September 21, Shenyang Blower Works Group (Shengu), which closed at 57.77 yuan last Friday, opened at 30 yuan, a drop of 48.07%. Funds quickly pulled the price back, triggering two intraday halts, before the stock closed at 37.72 yuan, down more than 34% for the day.

On September 17, the largest IPO in Northeast China this year listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange at an issue price of 4.39 yuan and surged 373.8% on its first day. The next morning it fell nearly 28% before rallying to 82.59 yuan in the afternoon, about 18.8 times the issue price. It was halted four times over two trading days, briefly topping 250 billion yuan in market value. On the evening of September 18, the SSE named Shengu, saying some investors had engaged in abnormal trading that disrupted market order, and imposed measures including suspending accounts.

Shengu traces its roots to the Shenyang Fan Factory founded in 1952. According to Frost & Sullivan, Shengu held a 51% share of China's large heavy-duty centrifugal compressor market and 21.2% of process reciprocating compressors in 2024, ranking first in both. In 2025 its revenue was 10.122 billion yuan, with net profit of 739 million yuan and an order backlog of 20.857 billion yuan at year-end.

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Hong Kong Close: Hang Seng Rises 1.18% to Reclaim 25,000

Source: Sina Finance

Hong Kong's three major indexes all rose on September 21. At the close, the Hang Seng Index gained 1.18% to 25,042.71; the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 0.4% and the state-owned enterprises index climbed 1.39%. Among tech names, Xiaomi gained more than 4% and Alibaba more than 3%, while Lenovo fell over 4%.

Innovative drug stocks surged, with 3SBio up more than 9%. According to reports, the US Treasury is drafting new rules on US investment in Chinese biotechnology; unlike the broad restrictions advocated by some US lawmakers, the discussed plan may focus on pathogens and technologies that could be weaponized, meaning it would not be a blanket ban on all cross-border biopharma deals.

PCB-related shares led gains, with Victory Giant Technology up more than 12%; shipping stocks were active, with COSCO Shipping Energy up over 6%. The Baltic Dry Index rose 1% last Friday to 3,370, while the SCFI rose for an eighth straight week to 3,687.83.

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Japan Rice Farmers Under Pressure; 32 Closed or Went Bankrupt in First 8 Months

Source: Xinhua Finance

Citing Japan's Kyodo News, data released by Teikoku Databank on September 21 shows that 32 Japanese rice growers closed or went bankrupt in the first eight months of this year, hit by an aging farmer population and rising production costs.

From January to August, 28 rice growers closed and four farmers with debts above 10 million yen went bankrupt. The tally covers agricultural companies and larger individual farmers, excluding small-scale and part-time farmers, so the actual number of exits may be higher.

Rice prices in Japan have swung sharply in recent years. In the summer of 2024, tight supply pushed prices up, with the average price of a 5-kilogram bag in supermarkets reaching 4,416 yen at one point. This year, as supply increased, prices fell, with the average dropping to just over 2,000 yen in the September 7-13 week, the first return to that level in nearly two years.

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South Korea's Red-Hot Stock Market Becomes a National Burden

Source: Sina Finance

South Korea has the world's best-performing stock market this year, but you might not know it from the headlines, which focus almost entirely on the “crazy” price swings and fervent local investors. That wild behavior has begun to become a national burden for South Korea.

Volatility in the Korean market has exceeded 60% this year and approached 100% in the summer. No major country has seen such high volatility during good economic times. President Lee Jae-myung promised during the 2025 campaign to eliminate the “Korea discount” and set an aggressive goal of doubling the Kospi within his five-year term.

The government has also opened the door to riskier investing, allowing retail investors to buy single-stock leveraged ETFs, including those tied to SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. When the market fell sharply this summer, these heavily leveraged retail positions were liquidated, amplifying the decline. Over the past 12 months, Korean market volatility rose to a level seen only four times since records began in the 1980s.

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Taiwan Stocks Jump 538 Points to 47,719, a Near 3-Month High

Source: Newtalk News

Led by MediaTek and Delta Electronics, with heavyweight TSMC turning from losses to gains, Taiwan's weighted index climbed on September 21 to close at 47,718.84, up 538.09 points or 1.14%, a near three-month high and closer to its record peak.

Heavyweight stocks shone: TSMC closed up 20 yuan or 0.81% at 2,480 yuan; MediaTek surged 300 yuan or 6.37% to close at 5,010 yuan, topping the 5,000-yuan mark and setting a new record; Delta Electronics jumped 140 yuan or 8.07% to 1,875 yuan.

The three major institutional investors were net buyers, snapping up a combined 47.038 billion Taiwan dollars, with foreign and mainland investors buying a net 20.376 billion. In futures, foreign investors' net short position on Taiwan index futures fell to 74,081 contracts, down 2,029 from the prior session, reflecting continued cash buying and reduced shorting in futures.

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Morgan Stanley: Rising Near-Term Correction Risk for US Stocks; S&P 500 Could Fall 7%

Source: Cailian Press

Morgan Stanley strategists said on September 21 that US equities face downside risk as energy prices stay high and bond market volatility rises, with the S&P 500 potentially falling as much as 7%.

A team led by strategist Michael Wilson wrote that if financial conditions tighten further or energy prices surge, the S&P 500 could drop to 7,100 before the bull market resumes toward year-end. The index closed at 7,650.50 on September 18, implying the team sees a decline of about 7%.

Wilson also expects volatility to rise as the November US midterm elections approach, but remains positive on corporate earnings, saying strong profit growth could push the market back to a 8,000 target by year-end. Last week, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate target range by 25 basis points, its first hike since late July 2023.

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