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Wednesday (March 18), the Federal Reserve's overnight reverse repurchase agreement (RRP) used a total of $698 million (6 counterparties), compared to $797 million in the previous trading day.

Recently, the profitability of soda ash manufacturers has improved, with no new maintenance plans at the moment. Hubei Shuanghuan and Jiangsu Shilian plan to conduct maintenance in May. The supply of soda ash in the market is sufficient. The market prices are fluctuating and declining, with intermediaries actively selling, and futures prices holding an advantage. The demand for heavy soda ash remains stable but is gradually declining, while the demand for light soda ash is steady and improving. Downstream users are replenishing stocks on dips. Overall, soda ash manufacturers are experiencing moderate new order intake, with some manufacturers flexibly accepting orders. In the short term, the overall inventory levels of soda ash manufacturers are high, and the consumption of heavy soda ash is still expected to decline. The market price of soda ash may trend downward. (Zhuochuang Information)

The Bank of Japan's holdings of Japanese government bonds have fallen below 50%. (Sina Finance)

Today, Shanghai nickel prices fluctuated and declined. After Qingming, the price trend continues to fluctuate. Today, spot prices are also basically stable, and the market remains cautious. Immediate demand buyers are making small purchases on dips, while some traders are also accepting orders, but there are also bearish traders waiting for further price adjustments. Overall, demand has not improved much, and nickel market inventories remain relatively abundant. Whether short-term inventory consumption can effectively keep up remains to be seen. Today, Jiangnan manufacturers continued to raise ex-factory prices by 300 yuan/ton in response to market developments. (SHMET)

The General Office of the People's Government of Yunnan Province has issued twenty measures to promote the revitalization of football, focusing on supporting funding for football initiatives and promoting the popularity of school football. Schools are required to include football in their development plans, conduct teaching and competitions, establish dedicated funds and facilities, and ensure that school teams train regularly and participate in provincial competitions.

Estée Lauder (EL) had a trading volume of $488 million on March 12, 2026, an increase of 85.26% from the previous day, but the stock price fell by 7.92%. The past five days and the entire month of March have shown a downward trend, with a year-to-date decline of 19.51%. The company released its earnings report on February 5, indicating a 4.68% year-over-year revenue increase and a turnaround to profit in net income.

As of March 31, 2025, the SMM regional alumina indices generally increased, with Shandong and Henan showing significant gains, while Guangxi experienced a decline. Overall price fluctuations were modest.

The Israeli Foreign Minister discussed Iran and Lebanon with the French Foreign Minister, emphasizing that the security of the Strait of Hormuz is a global challenge and accusing Houthi forces and Iran of conducting maritime terrorism. Since March, Israel has been attacked over 2,000 times by Lebanon, with Hezbollah being the main obstacle to peace. Israel calls on the Lebanese government to take action against Hezbollah to protect its own security.

London Metal Exchange(LME) Base Metal Inventory Changes are as follows: copper inventories decreased by 175 tons, nickel inventories decreased by 48 tons, aluminum inventories decreased by 1900 tons, tin inventories increased by 35 tons, zinc inventories decreased by 775 tons, and lead inventories decreased by 1300 tons.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warns that the Middle East conflict will push up inflation and slow global economic growth. Although the IMF expects an economic recovery, the current situation could lead to downward revisions of economic forecasts. The most vulnerable countries will be affected the most.

PROCEPT BioRobotics recently disclosed internal trading activity, with executive Nouri Alaleh selling 3,098 shares on March 10, 2026. Additionally, director Desai Antal Rohit made multiple stock purchases on the same day, demonstrating confidence in the company's future. The company focuses on developing urological surgical robots to improve patient care quality.

Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index declines further, now down 1%, latest at 7090.95 points.

Stada Semiconductor achieved a total operating revenue of 4.01B yuan in 2025, an increase of 18.34% year-on-year; net profit was 405 million yuan, a decrease of 20.20% year-on-year. The company benefited from growth in industries such as new energy vehicles and actively expanded into emerging fields like AI server power supplies, achieving sustained business growth.

On March 12, 2026, Copart (CPRT) achieved a trading volume of $480 million, a 68.62% increase from the previous day, while the stock price fell by 4.44%. As of March, its stock price has decreased by 13.23% year-to-date. The company's financial report shows that revenue slightly declined year-over-year, while net profit slightly increased.

Aureate Announcement: Company director Chu Yizhou has completed the reduction plan. From March 3, 2026, to March 30, 2026, he reduced a total of 4 million shares through centralized bidding, accounting for 0.98% of the company's total share capital. The transaction price ranged from 25.01 to 27.8 yuan per share, with a total transaction amount of 104M yuan. Before the reduction, he held 112 million shares, accounting for 27.65%; currently, he holds 108 million shares, accounting for 26.66%. The plan and the results are consistent.

NewAmsterdam Pharma disclosed on March 12, 2026, that director LANGE LOUIS G sold 44.2k shares on March 11, and there are other internal transaction records. The company focuses on developing non-statin oral medications for cardiovascular diseases, with the main candidate product being obicetrapib, currently undergoing multiple clinical trials.

Night session futures close: International copper down 2.56%, Shanghai copper down 2.58%, Shanghai aluminum unchanged, Shanghai zinc down 1.84%, Shanghai lead down 0.57%, Shanghai nickel down 0.69%, Shanghai tin down 3.39%. Aluminum oxide night session up 0.85%, aluminum alloy up 0.04%. Stainless steel night session down 0.21%.

Hong Kong stocks closed with the Hang Seng Index up by 0.15%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell by 0.86%. The overall telecom sector performed relatively well. Among individual stocks, Tuda Tong had the largest increase, and Tianshu Zhixin experienced the biggest decline.