New U.S. tariffs take effect today; Tencent Cloud launches R&D agent CodeBuddy NPC | Daily News Recap

0724 ｜Dolphin Research Focus:

🐬 Macro/Industry

1. At 00:01 ET on Fri (12:00 Beijing time on Jul 24), the U.S. implemented a new import tariff scheme with rates of 10%-12.5%, covering ~60 economies and replacing the expiring global temporary tariffs. The policy is grounded in Section 301 findings with differentiated rates by economy, and exempts food, fuel, and certain industrial goods. The unilateral escalation of trade barriers may intensify global trade friction and cap profit expectations for export-oriented manufacturing chains. Near term, it could weigh on market risk appetite.

2. The National Press and Publication Administration disclosed Jul 2026 game approvals: 197 titles cleared, including 193 domestic online games and 4 imports, a YTD high in count. Key products include NetEase's 'Fantasy Westward Journey: Reunion' and XD Inc.'s 'Ragnarok M: Eternal Love 2'. Permit issuance is normalizing and steadily expanding; marquee IPs passing review should lift new supply and support subsequent earnings for game companies.

🐬 Stocks

1.$TENCENT(00700.HK)

Tencent Cloud launched its first cloud-native R&D agent, CodeBuddy NPC. It is deeply integrated across the development lifecycle, autonomously handling solution design, coding, PR submission, automated testing, and iterative fixes for end-to-end delivery. It also reduces token costs by over 90%. This marks a shift from single-point code generation to enterprise-grade autonomous R&D agents, boosting development efficiency and broadening Tencent Cloud's AI deployment scenarios.

2.$Baidu(BIDU.US)

BIDU's Robotaxi service 'Apollo Go' obtained Hong Kong Transport Dept.'s first permit for fully driverless testing without a safety operator, allowing in-car driverless tests on the airport island starting Jul 27. It is also the first public-road fully driverless test under a right-hand-drive, left-side traffic system globally, marking a key overseas breakthrough for BIDU's autonomous driving and opening the door to Robotaxi commercialization abroad.

3. Dolphin Research: Earnings & Calls to Watch

Intel: 'Intel: CPU price hikes as stopgap; turnaround hinges on foundry?' and 'Intel (Trans): 2026 CapEx raised above $20 bn'. CATL to report earnings tonight.

🐬 Top Gainers

A-share: Industrial gases, semiconductor materials & equipment, motorcycle manufacturers. These sectors outperformed.

HK stocks: Reinsurance, system software, forest products. These sectors outperformed.

U.S. stocks: Life science tools & services, railroads - freight & passenger, heavy electrical equipment. These sectors outperformed.

🐬 Watchlist for Tomorrow

1. None.

Risk disclosure and statement: Dolphin Research Disclaimer and General Disclosure