• Tech/NQ lead the equity space after NVDA earnings, +7.7% pre-market, as attention turns to Jackson Hole
• USD has bounced from post-PMI lows, Antipodeans lag after recent outperformance & JPY unwinds recovery gains
• EGBs/Gilts tested post-PMI bounds before running out of steam, USTs under modest pressure
• Crude has turned positive and nat gas benchmarks are off lows after Chevron’s vote update; TTF remains markedly pressured post-Woodside
• Woodside and unions came to an in-principle agreement on numerous issues, vote due at 12:30BST/07:30ET
• BRICS to invite Iran, Egypt, Argentina, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and UAE to become new members
• Looking ahead, highlights include US Durable Goods & Initial Jobless Claims, Fed's Jackson Hole Symposium, Banxico Minutes, CBRT Policy Announcement, Speeches from Fed's Harker & Collins, Earning from Dollar Tree.

EUROPEAN TRADE

EQUITIES

• European bourses remain in the green but have trimmed markedly from initial highs in limited fresh newsflow, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.1%.
• NQ +1.0% outperforms among US futures alongside the European tech sector after blockbuster earnings from NVIDIA +7.7% pre-market, see below for more detail.
• Sectors more broadly are in the green, with Real Estate benefitting from the ongoing yield pullback while Basic Resources are pressured.
• Stateside, futures are in the green with NVDA exerting influence though the session's focus is switching to Jackson Hole as Fed's Harker & Collins are due before Chair Powell on Friday, ES +0.4%.
• Click here for more detail.
• Click here and here for a recap of the main European equity updates.

FX

• Buck bounces broadly from post-US PMI lows as UST spreads to debt rivals re-widen, DXY towards top of 103.630-270 range
• Kiwi and Aussie lag after recent outperformance on risk and commodity strength, as NZD/USD and AUD/USD drift down from high 0.5900 and 0.6400 levels to straddle 0.5940 and 0.6445.
• Yen unwinds recovery gains between 144.61-145.43 bounds and Euro fades within 1.0876-48 range amidst raft of USD/JPY and EUR/USD option expiries spanning much bigger parameters.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1886 vs exp. 7.2791 (prev. 7.1988)
• South African President Ramaphosa says BRICS group will invite Iran, Egypt, Argentina, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and UAE to become a new member; says membership of new countries will take effect 1 Jan 2024.
• Click here for more detail.
• Click here for the Option Expires for the NY Cut.

FIXED INCOME

• Bunds and Gilts push post-PMI boundaries before running out of steam between 133.36-132.69 and 94.95-51 respective ranges.
• T-notes lag within narrow 109-31+/109-24 band pre-US data and Fed commentary and in wake of lacklustre 20 year sale.
• Click here for more detail.

COMMODITIES

• Crude benchmarks spent the first half of the session under modest pressure but has lifted into positive territory and remains around session high following the Chevron vote headlines (see below).
• Currently, WTI & Brent Oct are in proximity to their respective highs around USD 78.90/bbl and USD 83.00/bbl respectively.
• Back to Chevron, the update also lifted the nat gas complex; but, benchmarks remain hampered on the session after the update from Woodside around a in-principle agreement before a vote later today.
• Spot gold is mildly firmer despite the stronger USD and comparably contained bond action; technicals feature including the 21- and 50-DMAs at USD 1920/oz and USD 1931.4/oz respectively. Base metals are pressured by the above USD action.
• Woodside Energy (WDS) said it continues to engage actively and constructively in the bargaining process with unions over Australian LNG facilities and substantial progress was made in talks and parties reached an in-principle agreement on a number of issues, while it added that it has not received any notices of protected industrial action. Furthermore, the Australian union said members at Woodside’s LNG facilities will meet today to discuss an in-principle agreement reached with the Co. by their negotiating team and that Woodside made their members a strong offer without industrial action being taken.
• Members of the Woodside (WDS AT) North West Shelf facility are set to vote on the in-principle agreement today at 12:30BST/07:30ET, via Reuters.
• Workers at Chevron's (CVX) Australian LNG facilities vote to allow unions to call strikes if needed, according to the union cited by Reuters; over 99% of the 433 workers that voted were in favour of taking action.
• NHC says there is a 50% chance of a cyclone forming in the next 48hrs from the storm south of Southern Mexico and a 40% chance from the storm near the Baja California peninsula.
• Hungarian PM Orban's Chief of Staff says the EU should extend restrictions on the import of Ukrainian grains after September 15th. If this does not occur, prepared to impose unilateral import restrictions beyond September 15th.
• Click here for more detail.

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• NVIDIA Corp (NVDA) - Q2 2023 (USD): Adj. EPS 2.70 (exp. 2.09), Revenue 13.51bln (exp. 11.22bln); approved further 25bln in share buybacks, without expiration. REVENUE BREAKDOWN: Data centre 10.32bln (exp. 7.98bln). Gaming 2.49bln (exp. 2.38bln). Professional Visualization 379mln (exp. 318.7mln). Automotive 253mln (exp. 309.4mln). KEY METRICS: Adj. gross margin 71.2% (exp. 70.1%). Adj. operating income 7.78bln (exp. 5.89bln). GUIDANCE: Q3 revenue view 16bln (exp. 12.1bln). COMMENTARY: '"New computing era has begun." Says cloud provider GPU demand is accelerating and it expects supply to increase each quarter through next year. China demand was in the historical range of data centre demand at 20%-25%. Visibility into demand extends into next year. Demand is tremendous. +7.7% in pre-market trade, was +6.6% in after-hours trade.
• US President Biden will reportedly name Medicare negotiation drugs next week, according to Politico.
• Click here for the US Early Morning Note.

NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES

• UK NHS senior doctors announced to conduct three consecutive days of strike action during the ruling Tory party's annual conference in October, according to FT.
• Italy is reportedly preparing a new rule for bad loans, via Bloomberg citing sources; looking to approve a borrower-friendly measure on such loans by end-2023.

GEOPOLITICS

• Russian military said it downed three Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, according to Reuters.
• Russia's Defence Ministry says they have scrambled a MiG-31 jet to intercept a Norwegian military plane over the Barents Sea, via Reuters citing agencies. Follows similar action earlier in the week.
• North Korea conducted a launch that prompted Japan to issue an emergency warning for the Okinawa prefecture and told residents to take cover indoors or underground. However, Japan’s government later stated that the missile had flown past and towards the Pacific Ocean, while it also lifted the emergency warning for the Okinawa prefecture.
• South Korea's Foreign Minister spoke with US and Japanese counterparts and they strongly condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launch which was said to be disguised as a space launch, as well as agreed to consider unilateral sanctions in response, according to Reuters.
• South Korean military said it views North Korea's launch as a failure and a clear violation of UN resolutions, while it added that joint drills with the US will continue at an intensive level and it will monitor North Korea's various activities and stay alert to any provocations, according to Reuters.
• Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno said Japan will lodge a protest to North Korea in the strongest possible terms following missile tests and will soon convene a national security committee meeting.
• The White House said President Biden's national security team is assessing the North Korean situation in close coordination with allies and partners, while it added the door has not closed on diplomacy but Pyongyang must immediately cease provocative actions.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin is a touch firmer on the session, holding just below the USD 26.5k mark with specifics light and price action remaining contained/rangebound overall after the pronounced downside seen towards the tail-end of last week.

APAC TRADE

• APAC stocks traded higher as the region took impetus from the gains on Wall St. where the Nasdaq led the advances across the major indices as yields declined in the aftermath of weak PMI data and with futures also boosted by strong Nvidia earnings.
• ASX 200 was positive amid the continued influx of earnings and as strength in tech and financials atoned for the underperformance in the defensive sectors.
• Nikkei 225 extended above the 32,000 level with semiconductor names in Asia riding the Nvidia wave.
• KOSPI was boosted with the index unfazed by North Korea’s latest failed ‘satellite’ launch, while the BoK provided no surprises and maintained its base rate at 3.50%, as unanimously expected.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the upbeat mood in which the Hong Kong benchmark climbed back above 18,000 amid tech strength, although gains in the mainland were limited after the PBoC’s liquidity drain and as participants await more big bank earnings.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• TEPCO (9501 JT) began the water release from the Fukushima plant and said no abnormalities were identified with the seawater pump or surrounding facilities. China's Foreign Ministry said China firmly opposes and strongly condemns Japan's release of Fukushima water into the sea, while it added that it is a major nuclear safety issue with cross-border implications and that Japan has not proved the legitimacy of the decision.
• BoK kept its base rate unchanged at 3.50% as expected, with the decision unanimous and said it will maintain a restrictive policy stance for a considerable time. BoK noted that the domestic economic growth is expected to improve gradually and it maintained 2023 GDP growth and inflation forecasts at 1.4% and 3.5%, respectively, but cut its 2024 GDP growth forecast to 2.2% from 2.3%. BoK Governor Rhee said 6 out of 7 members wanted to keep the door open for one more hike and that it is too early to talk about a rate cut but does not want to rule out the possibility of a cut within this year. Furthermore, Rhee said uncertainty is very high regarding US monetary policy and that it is undesirable to comment on whether South Korea can cut interest rates before the US, while he also noted Interest rates are at the upper end of the neutral range or higher.
• Chinese President Xi says Chinese financial institutions are about to launch a special USD 10bln fund to implement global development initiative.