• APAC stocks traded mixed as the region observed mass closures, with Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan all away.
• US equity futures traded flat with a slightly softer bias but around yesterday’s best levels.
• European equity futures are indicative of a slightly flat/softer open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future -0.1% after the cash market closed higher by 0.8% yesterday.
• DXY hovers around the 99.00 mark, AUD outperforms post-RBA, EUR/USD remains sub-1.10 and JPY firmer post-jawboning. 
• RBA maintained its Cash Rate Target at 0.10% as expected; statement dropped reference to the word "patient".
• Looking ahead, highlights include EZ, UK & US Composite/Services Final PMIs, US ISM Services PMI,  Fed's Williams, Kashkari, and supply from the UK.

US TRADE

• US stocks finished higher across the board whilst Twitter shares soared 27% after Tesla (+5.6%) CEO Musk reported a 9.2% passive stake in the social media giant.
• SPX +0.84% at 4,584, NDX +2.01% at 15,159, DJIA +0.30% at 34,922, R2K +0.60% at 2,096.

Click here for a detailed summary.

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• Tesla (TSLA) CEO Musk, after purchasing a large stake in Twitter (TWTR), asks via a Twitter Poll whether users would like an "edit" button [for Twitter posts].

GEOPOLITICS

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

NEGOTIATIONS/TALKS

• Ukrainian President Zelensky said he will address the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
• City council of Ukraine's Mariupol said Russia has appointed its own mayor of Mariupol, according to Reuters.

DEFENCE/MILITARY

• The US successfully tested a hypersonic missile in mid-March but kept it quiet for two weeks to avoid further tensions with Russia ahead of President Biden's trip to Europe, according to CNN sources.
• Russia's deputy envoy to UN Polyanskiy said AUKUS Provokes new round of arms race, Russia urges US to abandon plans to deploy ground-based missiles in APR, "rejects" possibility of using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, via Sputnik.

ENERGY/ECONOMIC SANCTIONS

• Eurogroup President Donohoe said Euro countries are ready to step up sanctions against Russia, but have not discussed details yet, according to Reuters.
• White House Adviser Sullivan said US is working with European allies to coordinate further sanctions on Russia and concluded Russia has committed war crimes and Bucha provides more evidence to support that. He said the conflict may not be just a few more weeks but could be months, and they are talking with European officials on sanctions options including for Russian energy.
• US Treasury will not allow any Dollar-debt payments to be made from Russian government accounts at US financial institutions, according to a spokesperson.

OTHER

• North Korea said that South Korea is not their principal enemy, but if South Korea chooses confrontation, then nuclear forces will carry out their mission, via KCNA.

CENTRAL BANKS

• The RBA maintained its Cash Rate Target at 0.10% as expected. The statement surprisingly dropped reference to the word "patient". The Board noted inflation has picked up and a further increase is expected. The statement made no explicit mention of rate increases.
• ECB's Knot said the ECB should act in the face of high inflation and gradual but timely normalisation required. He added that high inflation not completely due to supply shock and demand has recovered far faster than expected, via Reuters.
• BoJ Governor Kuroda said recent forex moves are somewhat rapid. He added if the rise in long-term rates is rapid, BoJ will offer to buy unlimited amount of 10yr JGBs and it may not necessarily be a "last resort", via Reuters.
• A senior BoJ official said Japanese consumer inflation will likely hover around 2% for some time from April onward, via Reuters.
• A BoK official said upside risks to inflation path has risen since the Feb forecast; will continue to monitor commodities, via Reuters.
• BNZ now expects the RBNZ to hike the OCR by 50bps in May (prev. 25bps) "but, hesitantly, keep April at 25".

APAC TRADE

EQUITIES

• APAC stocks traded mixed as the region also observed mass closures.
• Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were all closed today due to domestic holidays.
• ASX 200 traded in the green in the run-up to the RBA release but trimmed those gains following the RBA's hawkish hold.
• Nikkei 225 reversed the gains seen at the open amid unfavourable currency dynamics after verbal jawboning from Japanese officials.
• KOSPI traded lacklustre as South Korean March CPI rose at its fastest pace since 2011.
• US equity futures traded flat with a slightly softer bias but around yesterday’s best levels; ES -0.1%
• European equity futures are indicative of a slightly flat/softer open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future -0.1% after the cash market closed higher by 0.8% yesterday.

FX

• FX markets were relatively quiet for most of the session aside from the early Yen action and the post-RBA Aussie.
• DXY eventually reclaimed 99.00 and US yields caught a bid across the curve in late APAC trade.
• EUR/USD remained sub-1.1000 and GBP/USD maintained its 1.3100-status, with the pairs uneventful for most of the night.
• AUD soared after the RBA's hawkish hold in which it dropped the reference to patience from its statement.
• JPY-pairs were hit following verbal jawboning from the Japanese Finance Minister and BoJ Governor.
• Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki said they are closely watching FX impact on Japan's economy and must look out for any sharp FX moves.
• Japanese Vice Finance Minister declined to comment on FX intervention, closely watching FX with a sense of urgency.

FIXED INCOME

• 10yr JGB yields fell after the BoJ Governor said the central bank will offer to buy an unlimited amount of 10yr JGBs and may not necessarily be a "last resort".
• 10yr UST futures drifted lower overnight with the corresponding cash yield on either side of 2.40%.
• Bund futures mimicked UST price action and remained within yesterday's post-Europe range.

COMMODITIES

• Crude futures were firmer in what was seemingly APAC traders picking up the baton from Wall Street trade.
• JP Morgan (JPM) is reportedly mulling its commodity exposure following the nickel episode, according to Bloomberg sources.
• Italy's Ecology Transition Minister expects 10bcm of extra gas from deals Algeria, Azerbaijan, and Libya this year, and to reach more than 20bcm/yr in early 2024. Italy expects to close first deals for extra gas next week, according to Reuters.
• Iran has announced the return of oil production to pre-sanction levels, according to Sky News Arabia.
• Spot gold edged lower as the Buck slowly recovered but remained within recent ranges.
• Copper traded flat and with volumes low due to China's day off.
• Russia prevented the movement of a ship loaded with Ukrainian wheat after it was bought by Egypt, according to the Embassy of Ukraine in Cairo cited by Al Jazeera.

CRYPTO

• Crypto markets were sideways overnight with BTC above USD 45k and Ethereum north of USD 3,500.
• US SEC Chair Gensler has asked staff to consider expanding existing investor protections to crypto trading, according to Reuters.

NOTABLE APAC HEADLINES

• China's Shanghai city reported 13,086 new asymptomatic COVID cases for April 4th (vs 8,581 for April 3rd).
• Australia is to speed up the Australian Defence Force's missile strike capabilities

DATA RECAP

• South Korea CPI Growth Y/Y (Mar) 4.1% vs. Exp. 3.8% (Prev. 3.7%)
• South Korea CPI Growth M/M (Mar) 0.7% vs. Exp. 0.4% (Prev. 0.6%)