Zhaojin Mining (01818) climbed more than 12% in early trading before paring gains, with shares last up 8.40% at HK$25.80, on trading volume of HK$517 million.

On August 19, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it would at least double the size of its liquidity support repurchase operations for long-dated nominal Treasury securities, covering 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year maturities. The maximum size per operation, currently set at $2 billion, will rise to at least $4 billion going forward. The Treasury stated that this increase reflects its intent to provide greater liquidity in the long-dated nominal Treasury market.

Huayuan Securities believes that, from a medium-term perspective, the market's core trading logic has shifted to a pricing chain of "moderate inflation decline plus marginal weakening in employment data, leading to a loosening of the Fed's high-rate maintenance cycle and declining expectations for rate hikes this year," with the overall market likely to complete its bottoming process amid sustained volatility.

In the later stages of the U.S. economic cycle, the economy faces multiple constraints from high interest rates, credit contraction, and slowing growth. Looking ahead, whether the Federal Reserve cuts rates due to economic slowdown or is forced to maintain higher rates for longer due to inflation persistence, gold possesses strong long-term strategic allocation value.