• European bourses and US futures reside in the red with earnings dominating newsflow; NFLX +13.5%, TSLA -4.8%, SAP +4.8%.
• USD has been grinding higher alongside yields to the detriment of peers with the slim exception of EUR & JPY
• Crude benchmarks reside in the red after Wednesday’s gains with metals mixed and spot gold near unchanged
• Reports of renewed heavy shelling by Israel in Gaza while reports indicate Israel won backing from Biden to push ahead with a ground invasion
• Looking ahead, highlights include US IJC, Philadelphia Fed, Existing Home Sales & Leading Index, Fed's Powell, Jefferson, Goolsbee, Barr, Bostic, Harker & Logan. Earnings from Philip Morris, AT&T.

EUROPEAN TRADE

EQUITIES

• European bourses are softer, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.2%, with broader macro driver somewhat light as earnings take centre stage.
• Sectors are largely dictated by earnings with Healthcare pressured post-Roche (-3.7%) with Nestle (-2.1%) also lower and impacting the SMI (-1.2%) while Autos stall after Renault (-6.3%). On the flip side, Tech is the standout outperformer given well received SAP (+4.8%) results.
• Stateside, futures are similarly in the red, ES -0.1%, ahead of highly anticipated commentary from Chair Powell and after mixed earnings from Netflix (+13.5%) and Tesla (-4.8%)
• Beijing weighs delaying approval of USD 69bln Broadcom (AVGO)-VMware (VMW) deal, FT reports.
• Click here and here for the sessions European pre-market equity newsflow, including earnings.
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FX

• Greenback continues to grind higher in tandem with Treasury yields, DXY extends to 106.670 from higher 106.490 low and eyes last Friday high at 106.790.
• Euro and Yen buck broadly weak trend vs Dollar as EUR/USD holds above trendline support at 1.0521 and USD/JPY remains capped ahead of 150.00.
• Aussie undermined by payrolls miss with AUD/USD probing 0.6300 to the downside and prone towards 2023/double bottom not far below.
• Pound flounders amidst UK economic concerns as Cable loses 1.2100+ status and EUR/GBP breaches 0.8700 on way to scaling 200 DMA.
• Loonie undermined by downturn in WTI pre-Canadian PPI data with USD/CAD elevated above 1.3700.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1795 vs exp. 7.3226 (prev. 7.1795)
• Brazilian Finance Minister Haddad says preparing currency hedging tools this year to attract long-term foreign investments; Congressional resistance to executive orders has created "impasse" for new revenue measures. Brazils Q3 economic performance was very poor.
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• Click here for the Option Expires for the NY Cut.

FIXED INCOME

• Bonds bounce after hitting new lows as round number levels in futures and cash offer some support ahead of IJC, Philly Fed and a raft of Fed speakers including Chair Powell.
• Bunds eke marginal new peak at 127.68 vs 127.28 at worst, Gilts nearer 91.47 than 91.19 and T-note hovering within 105-12+/27 range.
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COMMODITIES

• Crude benchmarks are in the red after Wednesday's session of gains and with newsflow since somewhat lighter than has been the case recently; as it stands, WTI resides towards the bottom of a USD 86.21-87.36/bbl intraday range thus far, with its Brent counterpart similarly heavy within USD 90.25-91.35/bbl confines.
• Qatar set December-loading Al-Shaheen crude term price at about USD 3.25/bbl above Dubai quotes.
• US relaxed some sanctions on Venezuela's oil, gas and gold sectors. US Treasury said it is issuing a 6-month licence authorising transactions in Venezuela's oil and gas sectors and also issued a general licence authorising dealings with Venezuela's mining Co. Minerven. Furthermore, the general licence will only be renewed if Venezuela meets election commitments and other commitments related to those wrongfully detained, while there were later comments from Venezuelan President Maduro that all sanctions must be lifted.
• Spot gold is flat and trades on either side of USD 1,950/oz and holding onto the bulk of its recent geopolitically driven gains, with the yellow metal still well within yesterday’s USD 1,923.23-62.67/oz parameter.
• Spot silver is holing into modest gains on either side of the USD 23/oz mark but well within yesterday’s 22.68-23.32/oz range
• Base metals are mixed with 3M LME copper trading on either side of the USD 8,000/t and within tight USD 7,958-8,024/t parameters following modest APAC weakness as the region conformed to risk aversion.
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EUROPEAN DATA RECAP

• EU Current Account SA, EUR (Aug 2023) 27.7B (Prev. 20.9B)

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• Netflix Inc (NFLX) - Q3 2023 (USD): EPS 3.73 (exp. 3.49), Revenue 8.54bln (exp. 8.54bln), Streaming paid net additions 8.76mln (exp. +6.20mln). Sees Q4 EPS USD 2.15 (exp. 2.17). Sees Q4 revenue USD 8.69bln (exp. 8.76bln). Sees Q4 net paid additions similar to Q3 (exp. 7.85mln). Boosting some prices in the US, UK and France. COMMENTARY: Says "very optimistic" about long run ads opportunity, laying the foundation for what it believes should be a multi-billion dollar revenue stream over time. Now expect FY23 FCF of ~6.5bln, up from our prior forecast of at least 5bln. Repurchased 2.5bln of shares in Q3 and increased our buyback authorization by 10bln. (Netflix)
• Tesla Inc (TSLA) - Q3 2023 (USD): Adj. EPS 0.66 (exp. 0.73), Revenue 23.35bln (exp. 24.1bln); Cybertruck deliveries scheduled to begin on November 30th. Gross margin 17.9% (exp. 18%). FCF 848mln (exp. 2.59bln). Still sees FY production 1.8mln vehicles (exp. 1.82mln). Implemented upgrades in Q3 to enable unit cost reduction. Continue to make progress on next generation platform. CEO Musk said in post-earnings conference call that energy is becoming the highest margin business.
• Elon Musk says reports on him considering removing X from Europe is "false".
• Click here for the US Early Morning Note.

GEOPOLITICS

• Four French airports reportedly evacuated after the threat of bombs, according to Al-Arabiya correspondent; Figaro reports airports in Bordeaux, Nantes, Lille, and Montpellier airport have been evacuated after threats.
• Israel conducted an air strike on Kafr Shuba in southern Lebanon, according to Al Mayadeen TV.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu won private backing from US President Biden to push ahead with a ground invasion of Gaza, according to accounts of a closed-door meeting between the leaders cited by The Times.
• US President Biden discussed with Egypt's Sisi ongoing coordination to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza and agreed to work together on encouraging an urgent and robust international response to the UN's humanitarian appeal, while they agreed on the need to preserve stability in the Middle East and prevent escalation of the conflict.
• US President Biden is expected to seek USD 60bln for Ukraine and aid for Israel in an upcoming USD 100bln funding request, according to NBC News.
• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov says there is a serious risk that the Gaza conflict will become regional, while he added that attempts to blame Iran for the Gaza crisis are provocations, according to IFAX.
• North Korea said Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov's visit will mark a significant occasion in bilateral relations, while Lavrov said his visit will be a chance to reach a practical outcome in implementing the agreement reached at the recent Russia-North Korea summit. Furthermore, Lavrov said Russia totally supports North Korea's push to implement its sovereignty and their ties have a special meaning under the complex global political situation due to US hegemony that seeks world domination, according to KCNA.
• Lebanese Iran-aligned Al Mayadeen reports a drone attack on the Al-Tanf base on the Syrian, Iraqi and Jordanian border. Attack on Conoco site which hosts US troops in Syria; no official confirmation.
• Reports of renewed heavy shelling by Israel on different areas of the Gaza strip, via Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.

CRYPTO

• US SEC Chair Gensler said the SEC is still weighing Bitcoin ETF proposals.
• Bitcoin is firmer on the session to the tune of 0.5% and holding just shy of the USD 28.5k mark. As such, BTC remains someway shy of Wednesday's USD 29k peak but just above that sessions USD 28.15k trough.

APAC TRADE

• APAC stocks were lower across the board amid spillover selling from global peers following the latest earnings releases and as geopolitical risks lingered, while further upside in yields also added to the headwinds.
• ASX 200 was pressured amid mixed jobs data and with underperformance in yield-sensitive sectors.
• Nikkei 225 suffered firm losses despite the mostly better-than-expected Japanese trade figures.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp. conformed to the downbeat mood with the Hong Kong benchmark being the worst hit amid weakness in Chinese tech stocks and the property industry with the latter not helped by ongoing debt woes and after Chinese property prices remained at a contraction.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• BoK kept its base rate unchanged at 3.50%, as expected, with the decision unanimous although one of the six board members said the policy rate should remain flexible in both ways and the five other board members remained open for a future rate hike. BoK said it will maintain a restrictive policy stance for a considerable time and will monitor inflation slowdown, financial stability risks, economic downside risks, household debt growth monetary policy changes in major countries and developments in geopolitical risks, as well as noted that the Middle East crisis adds to uncertainties for South Korea. BoK also stated that South Korea's economy is to grow as projected earlier but uncertainties to the growth path are high, while it sees upside risks to inflation and said it might take longer to reach the inflation target.
• Country Garden (2007 HK) bondholders are reportedly forming groups and seeking urgent talks after Co. missed a USD 15mln coupon payment, raising risks of default, according to Reuters sources; subsequently,
• Moody's says it could downgrade Country Garden's (2007 HK) corporate family rating in the scenario that recovery prospects weaken further.
• Indonesian 7-Day Reverse Repo* (Oct 2023) 6.0% vs. Exp. 5.75% (Prev. 5.75%).
• Japanese Bankers Association Chair says if long-term rates rise significantly from their current figures, could result in downward pressure on economic activities.

DATA RECAP

• Chinese House Prices YY (Sep) -0.1% (Prev. -0.1%)
• Japanese Trade Balance (JPY) (Sep) 62.4B vs. Exp. -425.0B (Prev. -930.5B, Rev. -937.8B)
• Japanese Exports YY (Sep) 4.3% vs. Exp. 3.1% (Prev. -0.8%); Imports YY (Sep) -16.3% vs. Exp. -12.9% (Prev. -17.8%, Rev. -17.7%)
• Australian Employment (Sep) 6.7k vs. Exp. 20.0k (Prev. 64.9k); Participation Rate (Sep) 66.7% vs. Exp. 67.0% (Prev. 67.0%)
• Australian Unemployment Rate (Sep) 3.6% vs. Exp. 3.7% (Prev. 3.7%)
• Australian NAB Business Confidence (Q3) -1 (Prev. -3)