• APAC stocks were mostly higher with bourses in the region encouraged after the rebound on Wall Street; S&P 500 +0.6%, NDX +1.3%.
• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Russia will continue peace talks with Ukraine.
• Twitter (TWTR) is to be bought by Elon Musk for USD 44bln or 54.20/shr in cash and will become a privately held company upon completion of the transaction.
• European equity futures are indicative of a firmer open with Eurostoxx 50 +1.6% after the cash market closed lower by 2.2% yesterday.
• DXY took a breather from recent gains, antipodeans lead, EUR/USD remains on a 1.07 handle.
• Looking ahead, highlights include, US Durable Goods, Private Crude Inventories, NBH Policy Announcement, Supply from Italy and US, Earnings from Santander, Michelin, Orange, HSBC, Novartis, UBS, Alphabet, Microsoft, General Motors, Visa, 3M and more.

US TRADE

• SPX +0.64% at 4,299, NDX +1.32% at 13,533, DJIA +0.70% at 34,049, R2K +0.59% at 1,952.
• US stocks were ultimately firmer after risk assets recovered from NY morning lows, whereby global risk appetite initially took cues from the growing demand shock in China after the expansion of COVID testing in Beijing.

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NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• Twitter (TWTR) is to be bought by Elon Musk for USD 44bln or 54.20/shr in cash and will become a privately held company upon completion of the transaction, according to PR Newswire. There are no financing conditions for closing the transaction and Musk has secured USD 25.5bln of fully committed debt and margin loan financing.

GEOPOLITICS

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

NEGOTIATIONS/TALKS

• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said Russia is to continue contacts with Ukrainian President Zelensky's team and will continue peace talks with Ukraine, while he also stated the situation in Ukraine will end with a treaty but its content will depend on the military situation, according to Interfax and AFP.

DEFENCE/MILITARY

• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said risks of a nuclear war are serious and real but Russia's position is "inadmissibility" of such war and stated Russia wants to reduce artificial risks of nuclear war. Lavrov also stated that weapons delivered to Ukraine from the west will be legitimate targets for the Russian military, while he added that NATO is essentially engaging into war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy, according to Reuters.

SANCTIONS/ENERGY/ECONOMIC

• White House said it is still reviewing sanctions aimed at Russian President Putin and that there is more the US will likely do, according to Reuters.
• US Senate Majority Leader Schumer said he anticipates another request for Ukraine aid later this week and expects swift, bipartisan support for the next round of Ukraine assistance.
• UK government announced it will cut tariffs on all goods from Ukraine to zero under the UK-Ukraine FTA and it announced an export ban on products and technology that Russia could use to repress the Ukrainian people.
• UK MoD tweeted that the invasion of Ukraine significantly disrupted Ukrainian agricultural production with grain harvest for this year likely to be around 20% lower Y/Y, while it noted Ukraine is the world's fourth largest producer and exporter of agricultural goods.
• EU is reportedly mulling a cap on prices paid for Russian oil as a way to hit Russia's revenues, according to FT.

OTHER

• Explosions were reported close to a government building in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria, according to TASS.
• North Korean Leader Kim said any forces that seek military confrontation with North Korea will be destroyed and they will continue to take steps to speed up development of their nuclear arsenal. Kim also stated that the nuclear deterrence will not be bound by use and only to prevent war when unwarranted circumstances arise, while they are to be ready to deploy nuclear deterrence anytime, according to KCNA.
• Experts warned that North Korean Leader Kim may have ambitions to use the nation's nuclear weapons programme to assert control over the Korean peninsula, according to FT.

APAC TRADE

EQUITIES

• APAC stocks were mostly higher with bourses in the region encouraged after the rebound on Wall Street.
• ASX 200 bucked the trend as the prior day’s rout caught up with markets in Australia and New Zealand on return from the extended weekend, with miners pressured by tepid output from South32 and Woodside Petroleum.
• Nikkei 225 gained after a surprise decline in Unemployment and amid preparations for a relief package.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were lifted as strength in tech helped the former reclaim the 20k level and after further PBoC policy support pledges gradually offset the initial Beijing COVID-19 jitters in the mainland.
• US equity futures were rangebound overnight and only marginally extended on yesterday's rebound; ES +0.1%
• European equity futures are indicative of a firmer open with Eurostoxx 50 +1.6% after the cash market closed lower by 2.2% yesterday.

FX

• DXY marginally softened as it took a breather from the prior day’s gains where it printed fresh YTD highs.
• EUR/USD nursed recent losses after support held around the 1.0700 level and as the USD momentum waned.
• GBP/USD bounced off a trough near the 1.2700 level but with upside capped by a lack of catalysts.
• USD/JPY was choppy after Japan's Finance Minister reiterated his familiar jawboning and refuted reports of discussions with the US on joint FX intervention, although later suggested a willingness for future intervention.
• Antipodeans took advantage of a softer dollar and improved risk tone, while CNY was also firmer after the PBoC's FX RRR cut announcement which Nomura expects to be followed by another 100bps reduction by year-end.
• BoC Governor Macklem said he will not rule out raising interest rates more than 50bps, but said it would be very unusual, according to Reuters.

FIXED INCOME

• 10yr UST futures were lacklustre and pulled back from recent bull-steepening and brief foray above 120.00.
• Bunds faded some of Monday’s gains with havens pressured by the improved risk appetite.
• 10yr JGBs were cushioned amid the BoJ’s presence in the market for various maturities including an unlimited amount in the 5yr-10yr in its fixed-rate special operation.

COMMODITIES

• Crude futures clawed back some of the prior day's losses but with gains limited by Beijing lockdown fears.
• Spot gold traded sideways with price action stuck near the USD 1900/oz level despite a softer greenback.
• Copper rebounded overnight in tandem with the mostly constructive risk mood.
• CME is to cut the daily trading limit on CBoT Wheat futures to USD 0.70/Bu from 0.80/BU on May 2nd, but raise Corn and Soybeans limit to USD 0.50/Bu and USD 1.15/Bu from 0.35/Bu and 0.90/Bu, respectively.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin prices were flat and held on to Monday's gains above the 40,500 level.

NOTABLE APAC HEADLINES

• PBoC injected CNY 10bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate at 2.10% for a net neutral daily position
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.5590 vs exp. 6.5585 (prev. 6.4909)
• PBoC said it will step up prudent monetary policy's support for the real economy and that monetary policy support will emphasise industries, SMEs and home businesses impacted by COVID, as well as agricultural production and energy, according to Reuters.
• Nomura expects the PBoC to reduce RRR on FX deposits by another 100bps to 7% by year-end.
• Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki said there is no truth to the media report that Japan and the US discussed joint FX intervention, while he later said it is important to secure ample forex reserves for FX intervention in the future, according to Reuters.
• Japan is preparing a USD 48bln/JPY 6.2tln package to ease the inflation pain with more gasoline subsidies and low-rate loans with the package to be compiled as early as Tuesday, while the government is to request JPY 2.7tln under the supplementary fiscal 2022 budget, according to the Nikkei.

DATA RECAP

• SouthKorean GDP QQ (Q1 A) 0.7% vs. Exp. 0.6% (Prev. 1.2%)
• South Korean GDP YY (Q1 A) 3.1% vs. Exp. 2.8% (Prev. 4.2%)
• Japanese Unemployment Rate* (Mar) 2.6% vs. Exp. 2.7% (Prev. 2.7%)