Hong Kong stocks outpace mainland China by widest margin in decades

The FirstFT Asia newsletter highlights significant developments, including Hong Kong stocks outpacing mainland counterparts due to record inflows and technology optimism, with the Hang Seng index up 16.4% this year. In other news, Joe Biden has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, while Romania’s Nicuşor Dan won the presidential run-off against an ultranationalist. Additionally, the US plans to enforce maximum tariffs on non-compliant trade negotiators, Nvidia is expanding AI chip sales beyond Big Tech, and China’s rare earths export controls threaten global supply chains.