UBS forecasts 8 pct growth in China's equity market for 2026

The global financial institution UBS said it expects momentum in China's equity market to continue into 2026, forecasting that A-share company profits to rise by eight percent in 2026 and the country's economy will expand by 4.5 percent.

UBS released its annual outlook at a conference in Shanghai on Tuesday, striking an optimistic note on both equities and growth. It projects A-share company profits to rise this year, following a 5.5 percent increase in the first three quarters of 2025, driven largely by financial sector gains.

China's equity market has rallied in recent months. The Shanghai Composite Index surpassed the 4,000-point mark by the end of 2025.

While projected GDP growth in 2026 may appear more moderate, UBS analysts said that growth will be supported by improvements in the real economy.

"The supportive policies that are coming, obviously, it's the 15th Five-Year Plan, and I think we're very excited about what that means, and the technology side, equally I think, when it comes to biotech, there's a lot of excitement. Clearly there's always been a lot of interest in EVs, the brands becoming global, Chinese brands. I live in London. You can't go anywhere without seeing Chinese electric vehicles and Chinese mobile phones. So I think that the potential for continued growth is real," said Neil Hosie, global head of execution services at UBS Global Markets.

UBS said that challenges remain, particularly in boosting domestic consumption and stabilizing the property sector, but the company maintains a generally positive outlook.

"China appears to be pretty resilient to tariffs, which is very good news for China. On the other end, of course China, there are more sort of long-term challenges, which is really about the sort of geopolitical environment. That's one. The second one is more purely economic, and it is really about maintaining this growth between 4 and 5 percent. We currently have a growth forecast of 4.5 percent for 2026. We are confident this can be achieved, but over the medium and long term, these issues will have to be addressed eventually," said Massimiliano Castelli, head of global strategy for global sovereign markets at UBS Asset Management.

UBS forecasts 8 pct growth in China's equity market for 2026

Two major Qatari energy facilities shut down operations after being damaged during Iran's strikes targeting the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said on Tuesday, adding that the situation had been contained.

QatarEnergy announced on Monday that it had suspended liquefied natural gas (LNG) production following attacks on two of its energy facilities, and on Tuesday said it was suspending production of downstream natural gas products such as urea and methanol.

The shutdown sent gas prices skyrocketing on global energy markets, provoking fears of an energy crisis sparked by the conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking during his weekly press conference, Al-Ansari said that the decision to shut down the facilities was taken as a precaution, to ensure the safety of personnel and infrastructure after the strike damaged key production and processing sites.

"The damage was contained and now the operations to assess, technically, the safety of the facilities is underway. And from the defensive posture, as you have seen, we have been ready in monitoring and dealing with all of these attacks," he said.

Al-Ansari said that Qatar is committed to de-escalating the situation, and added that Qatar had not had any contact with Iran since Feb 28.

"Qatar's diplomatic stance has always been firm and clear: committed to peace, actively promoting de-escalation, advocating dialogue and consultation, and striving to resolve the conflict peacefully," he said.

Major Qatari energy facilities damaged in Iranian strikes: foreign ministry