Newsquawk

Europe Market Open: Asian stocks traded mixed amid recent gains in yields and oil prices

28 Sep 2023, 06:30 by Newsquawk Desk

APAC stocks traded mixed following the indecisive performance in the US amid further upside in global yields and higher oil prices.
European equity futures are indicative of a contained open with Euro Stoxx 50 future flat after the cash market closed up 0.1% yesterday.
US Senate is to vote today at 16:30BST/11:30EDT on a motion to proceed the "shell" bill to avoid a shutdown, according to Fox.
DXY holds gains above the 106 mark, EUR/USD lingers around 1.05, JPY is firmer but USD/JPY remains on a 149 handle.
Looking ahead, highlights include German & Spanish CPI, EU Sentiment, US GDP (Final), US IJC, ECB's Economic Bulletin, Banxico Policy Announcement, Fed’s Powell, Goolsbee, Cook & Barkin, Supply from Italy & US, Earnings from Nike.

US stocks traded mixed and the major indices finished relatively flat after the early heavy selling in stocks was pared into the close, while the decline in bonds resumed, led by the short-end amid comments from Fed's Kashkari on the potential for higher rates and as oil prices rose to fresh YTD highs.
SPX +0.02% at 4,275, NDX +0.24% at 14,580, DJI -0.20% at 35,550, RUT +0.98% at 1,779.
Click here for a detailed summary.

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

White House Economic Adviser Bernstein said the US economy faces headwinds from a possible shutdown, student debt restart, higher interest rates and the UAW strikes. Bernstein also commented that the US economy is expected to keep going in a pretty good way barring a policy mistake or exogenous shock, according to Reuters.
US Senate Minority Leader McConnell said he is comfortable with the Senate spending bill.
US Senate is to vote today at 16:30BST/11:30EDT on a motion to proceed the "shell" bill to avoid a shutdown, according to Fox News' Chad Pergram.
UAW is set to announce new automaker strike targets on Friday at 10:00EDT barring serious progress in talks, while the union has a new round of bargaining set with General Motors (GM) on Wednesday at 16:00EDT, according to Reuters sources.

APAC stocks traded mixed following the indecisive performance in the US heading into month and quarter-end amid further upside in global yields and higher oil prices.
ASX 200 pared initial gains as strength in the commodity-related sectors was offset by the upside in yields and weakness in consumer stocks after retail sales missed forecasts.
Nikkei 225 underperformed after it slipped beneath the 32,000 level and amid mass ex-dividend day in Japan concerning over 1,400 companies.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp diverged amid headwinds in the property sector after the suspension of shares in Evergrande and some of its units, while the mainland was kept afloat after the PBoC’s liquidity injections ahead of the holiday closures and following China’s latest support pledges.
US equity futures were rangebound amid the mixed mood in Asia and ongoing shutdown concerns.
European equity futures are indicative of a contained open with Euro Stoxx 50 future flat after the cash market closed up 0.1% yesterday.

DXY was rangebound and held on to the prior day’s gains with a firm footing above the 106.00 level after it recently printed fresh YTD highs on the back of rising yields and Fed speak.
EUR/USD was lacklustre and tested 1.0500 to the downside amid the recent dollar strength.
GBP/USD struggled for direction and was contained in a narrow range at the 1.2100 handle.
USD/JPY took a breather after making further headway in 149.00 territory.
Antipodeans nursed some of this week’s losses albeit with the recovery limited by the mixed risk appetite and after weaker-than-expected Australian Retail Sales.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1798 vs exp. 7.3239 (prev. 7.1717)
SNB Chair Jordan said the Bank should stick to its mandate and noted that ensuring price stability is SNB's contribution to climate.

10yr UST futures received only a slight reprieve from the recent bond selling amid the higher-for-longer expectations narrative and after comments from Fed’s Harker on the potential for a further hike.
Bund futures remained subdued after recent selling although are off worst levels.
10yr JGB futures were pressured with Japan’s 10yr yield at a decade high, while the results of the 2yr auction were relatively inline with the previous.

Crude futures continued their ascent in which WTI crude briefly rose above USD 95/bbl for the first time since August last year with price unfazed by the recent dollar strength.
France is exploring a windfall levy to take back control of energy prices, according to FT.
Spot gold was stuck at a 6-month low after its recent slip to beneath USD 1900/oz.
Copper futures were choppy and pared the initial gains amid the mixed risk appetite.

Bitcoin lacked direction and traded flat throughout the session after yesterday's indecision.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

HKEX announced shares of Evergrande (3333 HK), Evergrande Property Services (6666 HK) and Evergrande New Energy Vehicle (708 HK) have been suspended.

DATA RECAP

North Korea convened the Supreme People's Assembly and discussed an amendment to the constitution to stipulate the position of nuclear force in national defence, while it stated that it is important to accelerate the modernisation of nuclear weapons for strategic deterrence against the US. Furthermore, North Korean leader Kim called for reinforcing relations with countries that oppose US hegemony and said increasing production of nuclear weapons is an urgent task, according to KCNA.
US and Japan warned of China-tied hackers hiding in router software, according to Bloomberg. In relevant news, a US Senate staffer said 60,000 emails were stolen from the US State Department in 2023 hack of Microsoft's (MSFT) platform and Chinese hackers allegedly broke into ten US State Department accounts earlier this year.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

Italy cut its 2024 GDP forecast to 1.2% from 1.5% and hiked its 2024 budget deficit-GDP target to 4.3% from 3.7%, while it cut the 2024 debt-GDP target to 140.1% from 141.4%, according to Reuters sources.