SK hynix plans US-based memory fab; GOOG rolls out real-time voice AI | Daily News Recap

0916 ｜Dolphin Research Watchlist:

🐬 Macro / Sector

1. The HKSAR released its first Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) since the handover, aligning with China's 15th Five-Year Plan. It emphasizes consolidating Hong Kong's Intl financial and I&T hub status, accelerating the Northern Metropolis, and improving livelihood support. The medium- to long-term blueprint should anchor FDI expectations and reinforce the 'from stability to prosperity' policy trajectory, with near-term sentiment support for HK financials and tech, while execution will hinge on follow-through policies and project delivery.

2. The Fed's Sep decision lands overnight; CME data put the hike probability at 94%, which would lift the fed funds target range to 3.75%–4%. Elevated oil prices are rekindling inflation concerns, and rate expectations continue to pressure valuations as the three major U.S. indices extend their slide. With this hike largely priced, the focus shifts from the move itself to the post-meeting guidance. A hawkish tone would keep U.S. Treasuries and equities under pressure.

🐬 Single Stocks

1.$CATL(03750.HK)

CATL shares have fallen for two straight sessions. Leading NEV OEMs such as Xiaomi and Nio are reshaping battery sourcing by onboarding Tier-2 suppliers and pursuing in-house cells to reduce reliance on a single vendor, the so-called 'de-CATL' trend. While the order book remains solid, the market is concerned about mid-to-long-term share erosion and is repricing the 'irreplaceable leader' thesis. Near-term sector churn will likely intensify, and investors should watch OEM sourcing awards and designations closely.

2.$SK Hynix(SKHY.US)

Per foreign media, SK hynix is exploring a tie-up with Intel to manufacture memory in the U.S. for the first time, including options to lease Intel's Ohio fab or form a JV with cloud providers. Talks are preliminary, and any export of advanced memory tech would face Korean regulatory review. If executed, the plan would mitigate geopolitics, place SK hynix closer to North American AI compute customers, and activate Intel's idle wafer capacity. It would also support the localization of the global memory supply chain.

3.$Alphabet(GOOGL.US)

On Sep 15, GOOGL launched Gemini 3.8 Live and Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking: the former supports 97 languages, near-real-time vision, and async tool calling; the latter runs multi-step reasoning and tasks in the background during voice conversations. This closes the gap in real-time voice interaction, strengthens AI agent deployment, and directly competes with OpenAI's voice models, intensifying the race for model-powered end-user entry points.

4.$Micron Tech(MU.US)

MU unveiled a 512GB DDR5 RDIMM ultra-high-density server module for memory-intensive AI compute such as LLMs and databases. AMD and Intel have begun platform compatibility validation. With AI training and inference driving sustained demand for high-capacity memory, high-density DIMMs can materially lift per-server capacity. The product should ease memory capacity bottlenecks in AI servers and support data center compute expansion.

5. Earnings & Calls on our radar

Trip.com: 'Regulatory hammer falls — can Trip.com go 'asset-light' now?', 'Trip.com Group (Trans): antitrust done, Intl takes the baton'

🐬 Top Gainers by Sector

A-shares: leaders included real estate services, semiconductor materials & equipment, and forest products. These were the top-performing groups.

HK: leaders included insurance brokers, highways - passenger transport, and media. These were the top-performing groups.

U.S.: leaders included life science tools & services, oil & gas refining & marketing, and diversified chemicals. These were the top-performing groups.

🐬 Watch Tomorrow

1) U.S. Fed rate decision (upper bound) for Sep 16. 2) U.S. Sep Philly Fed Manufacturing Index.

Risk disclosure & statement: Dolphin Research Disclaimer and General Disclosure. Link above.