Newsquawk

Euro Market Open: APAC stocks traded mixed; growth and tech momentum from the US faded overnight

25 Mar 2022, 06:47 by Newsquawk Desk

APAC stocks traded mixed with the growth and tech-led momentum from the US fading overnight.
European equity futures are indicative of a slightly higher open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future up 0.1% after the cash market closed lower by 0.2% yesterday.
DXY hovers around 98.50, EUR/USD is back above 1.10 and USD/JPY has pulled back below 122.00.
The US and EU have struck a deal for the US to supply the bloc with additional LNG and lower dependence on Russian supply.
Looking ahead, highlights include UK Retail Sales, German Ifo, US Uni. of Michigan (Final), EU Council Meeting and EU/US Meeting, Speeches from Fed's Williams, Fed's Barkin & ECB's de Cos, Supply from Italy.

US TRADE

US stocks were firmer across the board led by outperformance in tech/growth amid a pullback in oil prices and despite the continued upside in yields.
S&P 500 +1.4% at 4,520, Nasdaq 100 +2.2% at 14,766, Dow Jones +1.0% at 34,708, Russell 2000 +1.1% at 2,075.

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

Apple (AAPL) is reportedly developing hardware subscription service for iPhones which could be launched by the end of the year or in 2023, according to Bloomberg.

GEOPOLITICS

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

DEFENCE/MILITARY

US official said Russian President Putin tends to act out and not back down which sparks concerns in the US that he feels cornered and may lash out.
US assessed a significant failure rate of Russian missiles in Ukraine of as high as 60%, according to three US officials.
US Pentagon senior official said Russia is running out of precision-guided munitions for the war in Ukraine and that the Ukraine war makes Russia a strategic burden for China.
US Pentagon's new strategy will describe Russia as an acute threat but one that cannot pose a long-term systemic challenge, while Russia will emerge from the Ukrainian war weaker militarily and politically.
Russian Foreign Ministry said NATO summit decision to keep providing support to Ukraine confirms alliance wants the conflict to continue, according to Ria.

ENERGY/ECONOMIC SANCTIONS

US President Biden said the US and NATO will sustain sanctions as long as needed to change Russian President Putin’s course of action and not just for one or two months, but for the entire year. President Biden warned they would respond if chemical weapons are used whereby the nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use, while he thinks Russia should be removed from the G20 and said they are coordinating with the G7 and EU on food and energy security.
EU joint statement noted the EU demands that Russia stop committing war crimes in Ukraine and EU is prepared to close loopholes in Russian sanctions.
French President Macron said no decision has been made on sanctioning Russian oil, gas, and coal
Japan is to freeze assets on 25 more Russian individuals and will prohibit exports to an additional 81 Russian organisations, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Australia announced new sanctions on Russia and Belarus including Belarusian President Lukashenko and members of his family.
Russia's Medvedev said it is foolish to expect Russian authorities can be influenced by sanctions against Russian businesses.
Russia is mulling selling its oil and gas for Bitcoin as sanctions intensify, according to CNBC.
Lukoil's global trading arm is scaling back operations following sanctions, according to Reuters sources.
Nord Stream 2 is to file for insolvency in the coming days, according to Stuttgarter.
US DoJ charged four Russian government workers over hacking campaigns that targeted the global energy sector, according to FT.

OTHER NEWS/REMARKS

US charged Russian Ministry of Defence official Gladkikh with conspiring to damage critical infrastructure and charged three Russians employed by Russia's federal security service with launching attacks on energy sector computers.

FUND/SOVEREIGN ACTION

Russia's 2029 Eurobond holders received some overdue coupon payments, according to Bloomberg.

OTHER

North Korea confirmed Thursday's launch was a 'new-type' Hwasong-17 and that its leader Kim directly guided the ICBM test, while Kim sees the new ICBM as an important deterrent against nuclear war. Kim also stated the new weapon shows the might and modernity of North Korea's strategic force and that they are preparing for a long confrontation with US imperialism. Furthermore, he said North Korea's strategic force is ready to check and contain any military attempt by the US, while he warned whoever attempts to infringe on North Korea's security will pay dearly.
US and South Korean defence officials agree on the need for firm responses to North Korean ICBM launch, including at the UN, according to Pentagon statement.
US imposed sanctions on five entities and individuals in Russia, North Korea and China for weapons proliferation, according to the State Department.

APAC TRADE

EQUITIES

APAC stocks traded mixed with the growth and tech-led momentum from the US fading overnight.
ASX 200 was led higher by strength in mining stocks but with upside capped by a lack of fresh catalysts.
Nikkei 225 was indecisive as JPY nursed recent losses and the 10yr yield neared the BoJ’s cap.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. weakened with tech names pressured after the US downplayed speculation of a deal on Chinese stock listings and with the PBoC's liquidity boost only providing brief support.
US equity futures took a breather with price action rangebound near yesterday's peak.
European equity futures are indicative of a slightly higher open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future up 0.1% after the cash market closed lower by 0.2% yesterday.

FX

DXY faded recent gains with the DXY back around the 98.50 level, despite continued upside in yields.
EUR/USD climbed above 1.1000 and gained further traction after it breached its 100- and 200-hour MAs.
GBP/USD benefitted from the softer greenback and broke out of yesterday's range.
USD/JPY pulled back from above 122.00 as the BoJ refrained from intervening to defend its yield cap.
Antipodeans were rangebound and edged mild gains amid the dollar weakness.
BoJ Governor Kuroda said it is desirable for FX rates to move stably and doesn't think the weak JPY reflects eroding market trust in the value of the currency, while he stated the market's view is that a weak JPY is due to Japanese importers' dollar demand and prospects of Fed rate increases. Kuroda added the impact of weak JPY can be uneven but noted it is still beneficial to Japan's economy.
Banxico hiked rates by 50bps to 6.5%, as expected, via unanimous decision and stated with this action, the monetary policy stance is adjusted to the trajectory required for inflation to converge to its 3% target within the forecast horizon.

FIXED INCOME

10yr USTs were lacklustre after recent selling following the recent selling pressure as yields remained elevated and with plenty of Fed speakers this week echoed a hawkish message.
Bunds traded subdued, albeit off Thursday’s lows with the 159.00 level providing support overnight.
10yr JGBs conformed to the uninspired mood as the 10yr yield rose to the highest since January 2016.

COMMODITIES

WTI and Brent were uneventful after Thursday's losses amid calls from the west for increased supply and with the IEA prepared to release more oil stocks if needed, while the CPC pipeline partially resumes.
Dubai set the official crude differential to DME Oman for June at a USD 0.25/bbl discount.
White House Economic Adviser Deese said the US economy is strong enough to navigate challenges and that they should see more US oil production.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are pushing the US for deeper security cooperation, according to FT.
US is finalising plans to supply the EU with up to 15bcm of LNG by the end of 2022, according to FT sources.
Canada said it has the capacity to increase oil and gas exports in 2022 by up to 300k BPD, including 200k BPD of oil and up to 100k BPD of natural gas, while PM Trudeau said Canada can play a modest role in replacing Russian energy on global markets.
Spot gold traded sideways and largely ignored the softer greenback.
Copper was subdued as Asia failed to sustain the risk momentum from Wall St.
LME is immediately introducing a rules-based prohibition on the submission of orders on any execution venues where such order is outside the applicable daily price limits (up or down) for the relevant metal.

CRYPTO

Bitcoin was indecisive oscillated around the USD 44,000 level.

NOTABLE APAC HEADLINES

PBoC injected CNY 100bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate at 2.10% for a CNY 70bln net injection.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.3739 vs exp. 6.3639 (prev. 6.3640).

DATA RECAP

Tokyo CPI YY (Mar) 1.3% vs. Exp. 1.2% (Prev. 1.0%)
Tokyo CPI Ex. Fresh Food YY (Mar) 0.8% vs. Exp. 0.7% (Prev. 0.5%)
Tokyo CPI Ex. Fresh Food & Energy YY (Mar) -0.4% vs. Exp. -0.5% (Prev. -0.6%)

EUROPE

NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES

ECB's Schnabel said they would need to reconsider the end of APP if they were to enter a deep recession due to the Ukraine crisis, while she also commented that developments in real wages are a bit surprising.