Next week's major schedule: China and US CPI; developments in the Iran situation; earnings reports from Oracle, Cambricon, and CATL.

03/09 - 03/15 Major Financial Events This Week, All Times Are Beijing Time: In the coming week, the market will closely watch how the Middle East conflict will spread and the extent of its impact on energy supply, while also digesting upcoming Chinese and US inflation data. The key topics for next week are as follows: First, Chinese and US macroeconomic data. The US February CPI and the postponed “Fed’s favorite inflation indicator” January Core PCE will be released in succession. The stickiness of the data will directly influence expectations for Fed policy. China will intensively release trade, inflation, and financial data, which, together with the upcoming closing of the National People's Congress next week, will jointly validate the pace of domestic economic recovery. Notably, the annual 315 Gala will be held at the end of next week. Next, geopolitical developments and tech industry activity. The Middle East is at a critical juncture; Iran’s new leader may be selected, with an election meeting scheduled within the next 24 hours, alongside joint drills by the US and Europe, meaning geopolitical risks could disrupt market sentiment at any moment. Tech industry catalysts continue, with the Hangzhou Global Artificial Intelligence Conference (GAIC) featuring giants like DeepSeek and Nvidia, and the US Commerce Department hosting a robotics meeting. Industrial competition in AI and hard technologies is heating up. Finally, earnings season focuses on AI, new energy, and traditional energy giants. Oracle, CATL, Cambricon, Foxconn Industrial Internet, Li Auto, NIO, and others will disclose their latest results, validating high-tech and manufacturing sector prosperity. Saudi Aramco’s earnings will clearly show the deep impact of Middle East turmoil on global energy markets. Today's WallstreetCN Exclusive New Year Ritual: Start with an Insight Calendar~ More purchases, more benefits. Perfect for gifts and personal collections. Economic Indicators US CPI, Fed’s favorite inflation indicator (PCE), Q4 GDP On March 11, the US February CPI will be released. Market consensus expects the monthly core CPI increase to slow from 0.3% to 0.2%, with the year-on-year figure steady at 2.5%. Bloomberg Economics says falling used car and rent prices are the main cause of slower month-on-month growth. The “Fed’s favorite inflation indicator,” January Core PCE, will be released on March 13, with markets expecting a monthly increase of 0.4%, and a year-on-year rise to 3.1%. Seasonal factors like corporate price adjustments early in the year may cause January PCE to be elevated. Additionally, the US January personal consumption expenditure and income report has been rescheduled to March 13; US Q4 GDP, January durable goods orders, and other data will also be released. China CPI, PPI, import/export and financial data On March 9, China’s February CPI and PPI will be released. Huachuang Securities expects that, affected by the timing of the Spring Festival and rising oil prices, February CPI year-on-year may rise to about 0.9%, and PPI year-on-year decline may narrow to around -1.2%. The next day, the General Administration of Customs will release January-February import/export data. Huachuang Securities expects exports to grow 7% year-on-year, imports 9%, and midstream manufacturing exports to perform strongly. Additionally, February financial data will be released next week. Huachuang Securities expects new aggregate social financing of about 1.2 trillion yuan, total social financing growth to slow to 7.9%, and M2 year-on-year growth at 8.8%. Financial Events China’s National People's Congress (NPC) continues, closing between March 11-12 On the morning of March 9, a concentrated interview activity called “Representative Channel” will be held before the second plenary session. On the morning of March 11, the Fourth Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference will close. In the afternoon of March 12, the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress will close. Continue to follow Middle East developments, election for Iran’s Supreme Leader to occur within 24 hours After the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, global markets are focused on it. The conflict has emerged as a core variable in financial markets; soaring oil prices have caused major asset volatility and led investors to significantly lower expectations for Fed rate cuts. Latest developments in the region are closely watched. According to Xinhua News (March 8), a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts stated that the election for Iran’s Supreme Leader will take place within the next 24 hours. Trump once again irrationally claimed he wants to participate in Iran’s next leadership selection and said he doesn’t want the US to “face the same problem every five or ten years.” ROK-US joint military exercises and “Cold Response 2026” drill The "Cold Response 2026" military exercise is taking place in Norway’s Arctic region, running until March 19, involving 14 NATO countries including the US. Additionally, CCTV News quoted the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, stating that South Korea and the US will hold the 2026 “Freedom Shield (FS)” joint military exercise from March 9–19. US Commerce Department to hold US robotics manufacturing event According to Semafor, an invitation from the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration revealed that the US Commerce Department will host a US robotics manufacturers roundtable on March 10. This is part of US efforts to promote domestic industry development. Industrial and humanoid robot manufacturers are invited. 5th Wind Power O&M Technical Improvements Seminar The 5th Wind Power O&M Technical Improvements Seminar will be held March 10-11 in Beijing. The conference will deeply discuss key areas such as policy markets, technical innovation, efficiency improvement, asset management, and market-based transactions focusing on core industry needs. Hangzhou Global Artificial Intelligence Conference (GAIC), Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference The Hangzhou GAIC will be held March 12-14 at Zhejiang Hangzhou International Expo Center. Leading global AI enterprises like Huawei, Alibaba Cloud, DeepSeek, Yushu Technology, Nvidia, and SenseTime will participate. On March 14, the Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference will be held at Eastern Hub International Business Cooperation Zone. EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council Meeting EU finance ministers will meet in Brussels to discuss economic policy coordination and financial matters. Apple iPhone 17e and new iPad Air launched for sale Apple recently released the iPhone 17e and new iPad Air at prices consistent with previous generations. iPhone 17e features the A19 chip, C1X modem, storage doubled to 256GB, but retains single camera and 60Hz display, among other differences; iPad Air upgrades to the M4 chip, boosting performance by 30%. Both products will go on sale March 11. This fall, Apple will launch the iPhone 18 series and its first foldable iPhone, the latter considered a central hardware strategy for the year. Alibaba Cloud Bailian speech recognition model sensevoice-v1 to be discontinued Alibaba Cloud’s Bailian model service platform issued a notice that, due to product strategy adjustments, the Bailian speech recognition model sensevoice-v1 will be discontinued on March 9, 2026. Users are advised to upgrade to fun-asr, fun-asr-mtl, qwen3-asr-flash and other new models. Hong Kong plans to issue the first batch of stablecoin licenses in March Hong Kong plans to issue the first batch of stablecoin licenses in March, with a specific date not yet determined. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive John Lee stated at the "Consensus Hong Kong Conference 2026" on February 11 that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority is actively processing license applications and believes the first licenses will be issued in March. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to meet with Middle East envoy Reportedly, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will meet the Middle East envoy on March 12. Earnings Saudi Aramco, CATL, Cambricon, Foxconn Industrial Internet, Oracle, Li Auto, NIO In the coming week, numerous companies will release earnings reports. Among A shares, CATL, Cambricon, Foxconn Industrial Internet, Changchun High Tech, and Eastmoney will announce results. In Hong Kong and US shares, Oracle, Li Auto, NIO, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Full Truck Alliance, Futu Holdings, BMW, BioNTech, Daimler Truck, Dollar Tree, MTR Corporation, Porsche, Volkswagen, and Shenzhen Sunway Circuit earnings are due. The world’s largest oil and gas company, Saudi Aramco, will announce its latest results on March 10, with attention on impacts from Middle Eastern geopolitical conflict. Disclosure dates for A-H shares are as follows: [Images] Risk Warning and Disclaimer The market has risks; investment requires caution. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account specific investment goals, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are suitable for their circumstances. Investing based on this article is at your own risk.