• APAC stocks traded with modest and cautious gains with upside momentum somewhat waning in what was a catalyst-light session
• DXY printed fresh incremental YTD lows overnight of 100.78 as APAC players reacted to the latest batch of US data
• US House Republicans are considering a proposal that would kick the debate over the US debt limit to 2024, according to Bloomberg sources.
• European equity futures are indicative of a slightly firmer cash open, with Euro Stoxx 50 future +0.3% after the cash market closed +0.7% yesterday.
• PBoC Governor Yi Gang and Fed Chair Powell discussed the economic and financial situations of the US and China on Tuesday
• Looking ahead, highlights include Swedish CPIF, US Retail Sales, US Industrial Production, US Uni. of Michigan Prelim. Survey, speeches from Fed's Waller, BoE's Tenreyro, earnings from UnitedHealth, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, BlackRock.

US TRADE

EQUITIES

• US stocks rallied through the session Thursday with gains led by Big Tech in price action that seemed to be more flow-driven than due to a specific catalyst.
• SPX +1.33% at 4,146, NDX +2.03% at 13,109, DJIA +1.14% at 34,030, RUT +1.30% at 1,796.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• US House Republicans are considering a proposal that would kick the debate over the US debt limit to 2024; are readying legislation they could unveil next week that would suspend the debt ceiling until May 2024, according to Bloomberg sources.
• Federal Reserve Balance Sheet (USD, W/W): 8.665tln (prev. 8.682tln), Discount Window borrowing 67.6bln (prev. 69.7bln), BTFP 71.8bln (prev. 79bln), Foreign Repo Usage 30bln (prev. 40bln).
• Atlanta Fed's Wage Growth Tracker at 6.4% in March (prev. 6.1% in February); for people who changed jobs at 7.3% (prev. 6.7%), for those not changing jobs at 5.9% (prev. 5.8%).
• Wells Fargo (WFC) reportedly faces US regulatory heat after Silicon Valley Bank meltdown, according to NY Post citing sources.

APAC TRADE

EQUITIES

• APAC stocks traded with modest and cautious gains with upside momentum somewhat waning in what was a catalyst-light session.
• ASX 200 was indecisive and moved between gains and losses in early trade, with the heavy outperformance of gold miners cushioning losses for the index.
• Nikkei 225 outperformed and was propped up by almost all of its sectors at one point in the aftermath of Warren Buffett’s bullish comments on Japanese stocks earlier this week, whilst Fast Retailing shares gained over 8% post-earnings after upping its earnings forecasts
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp saw mild gains for most of the session, but ranges were contained with traders cautious ahead of next week’s key economic data including GDP, whilst PBoC Governor Yi Gang said he expects China's 2023 GDP growth at "around 5%" - in line with the government target.
• US equity futures (ES unch.) held onto yesterday's gains and traded horizontally overnight with a mild downside bias.
• European equity futures are indicative of a slightly firmer cash open, with Euro Stoxx 50 future +0.3% after the cash market closed +0.7% yesterday.

FX

• DXY printed fresh incremental YTD lows overnight of 100.78 as APAC players reacted to the latest batch of US data, with the next level to the downside the 22nd April 2022 low at 100.47.
• G10 pairs posted modest gains across the board against the Dollar.
• EUR/USD found some resistance at 1.1075 whilst GBP/USD stopped short of testing 1.2550 to the upside, with newsflow for the pairs quiet overnight.
• JPY was modestly firmer against the USD but weaker against the EUR and flat against GBP.
• NZD outperformed after NZD/USD rose back above its 100 DMA (0.6302), while the AUD traded flat for most of the session.
• CNH saw upticks after PBoC Governor Yi Gang said he expects China's 2023 GDP growth at around 5%, and said China's economy is stabilising and rebounding, according to the statement from the G20 meeting.
• KRW experienced another day of gains after the BoK's FX swap deal was announced yesterday.
• SGD weakened after Q1 GDP missed expectations whilst the MAS also stood pat on its policy.
• PBoC sets USD/CNY mid-point at 6.8606 vs exp. 6.8614 (prev. 6.8658)

FIXED INCOME

• 10yr UST futures gradually edged higher following yesterday's choppy price action which saw a fade of the PPI rally.
• Bund futures held a downward bias following a slew of commentary from ECB hawks and after some late state-side selling.
• 10yr JGB futures drifted lower throughout the session but were initially supported by BoJ governor Ueda said the BoJ will maintain current monetary easing and core CPI is expected to fall back below 2% towards the latter half of the fiscal year.
• Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/B) has established the terms of five yen-denominated bonds, amounting to JPY 164.4bln, according to dealwatch.

COMMODITIES

• Crude futures were relatively uneventful after paring some of their recent strength on Thursday despite the softer Dollar, with desks pointing to growth concerns.
• Angola expects its oil production to temporarily increase next year on the back of recent private investments, but will remain under 1.5mln BPD (vs current 1.12mln BPD); the budget assumes oil at USD 75/bbl; oil under USD 70/bbl becomes uncomfortable, according to Reuters.
• The Biden admin reportedly approved LNG exports from the proposed Alaska LNG project, according to a document cited by Reuters.
• Spot gold and base metals were supported amid the broader Dollar weakness, with spot gold finding some resistance just before yesterday's 2,048.71/oz high.
• Chilean mining minister expects the current production slump in the local copper industry to rebound in the coming years; sees no large variation in copper price from Cochilco forecast of USD 3.85/lb this year; dialogue with industry is helping ease concerns, according to Reuters.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin prices pulled back after reaching a high just shy of USD 31k but traded firmer during the session. Ethereum outperformed and topped USD 2,100 following a software upgrade dubbed the "Shanghai update".
• London Stock Exchange is to offer leveraged bets on Bitcoin (BTC), according to The Times.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• PBoC Governor Yi Gang and Fed Chair Powell discussed the economic and financial situations of the US and China on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.
• PBoC Governor Yi Gang expects China's 2023 GDP growth at around 5% (in line with the government target), and China's economy is stabilising and rebounding, according to the statement from the G20 meeting. He said China's inflation stays at low levels and China's property market is showing positive changes.
• China's top banks reportedly plan USD 5.8bln of bond sales to plug the capital hole, according to Bloomberg.
• "The scale of [Chinese] special bond issuance in the second quarter may continue to remain high. If the subsequent economic recovery falls short of expectations", according to Securities Times.
• BoJ Governor Ueda said the BoJ will maintain current monetary easing; Japan's core CPI, which is now above 3%, will likely slow back below 2% towards the latter half of this FY. He added they expect wages in Japan to continue rising, based on their view that the global economy will recover, according to Reuters.
• RBNZ Finance Minister Robertson says New Zealand has headroom on the balance sheet with borrowing below 20% of GDP, and the inflation impact from rebuild may be less than feared, according to Reuters.
• BoK Governor Rhee says not worried about a specific USD/KRW rate, according to Reuters.
• The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) maintains the slope, width, and centre of the currency band; and said core inflation is expected to ease materially by end-2023.
• Taiwan's leading tech companies suffered the biggest drop in revenue in at least a decade last month, according to Nikkei data.

DATA RECAP

• New Zealand Manufacturing PMI* (Mar) 48.1 (Prev. 52.0)
• Singapore GDP Flash Q/Q Q1: -0.7% (Exp. -0.2%, Prev. -0.3%); Advance Y/Y Q1: 0.1% (Exp. 0.6%, Prev. 2.1%).

GEOPOLITICAL

• Russia could consider the possibility of a prisoner exchange for jailed WSJ reporter Gershkovich only after a Russian court renders a verdict on an espionage allegation, according to WSJ citing Russian official.
• North Korean leader Kim guided Thursday's solid-fuel ICBM test, according to local media KCNA - the new ICBM called Hwasong-18.
• USTR Tai is to visit Tokyo, Japan next week, according to Bloomberg.
• China carried out missile launch drills in the Xinjiang region, according to Chinese state media.

EU/UK

• ECB's Kazaks said the risk of recession is non-trivial and rates will need to go up more to tame inflation, according to CNBC. He added the key issue is still very high inflation, and he wouldn't exclude a 50bps hike in May.
• ECB's Holzmann said that a 50bps rate hike is in the ballpark for May, according to CNBC.
• ECB's Nagel said he doesn't expect a recession, according to Reuters.
• Spain's Economy Minister Calviño said GDP at the start of the year has been very strong, according to Reuters.
• UK Chancellor Hunt said the latest GDP numbers show there's absolutely no room for complacency. He noted confidence in the resilience of the UK economy among global finance officials, according to Reuters.
• UK Chancellor Hunt to "look at" raising deposit guarantees in wake of SVB collapse after recent turmoil showed banks could fail more rapidly than in the 2008 crisis, according to FT.
• US Treasury Secretary Yellen is to meet with BoE Governor Bailey at 15:30EDT/20:30BST, according to Bloomberg.