• White House economic adviser Hassett said the administration has more than 20-25 deals on the table with deals close to being finalised and when President Trump returns, he will announce the next deal, according to a Fox interview.
• US President Trump said his relationship with China is good and he could see himself dealing with Chinese President Xi on a deal, according to a Fox News interview.
• US President Trump said the market will go higher and it is amazing what a climbing market will do.
• APAC stocks traded somewhat mixed but with the region predominantly in the green following the momentum from the constructive performance on Wall St.
• European equity futures indicate a lower cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures down 0.2% after the cash market closed with gains of 0.4% on Tuesday.
• Looking ahead, highlights include German/Spanish CPI (Final), OPEC MOMR, Speakers include BoE’s Breeden, ECB’s Cipollone, Fed’s Waller, Jefferson & Daly, Supply from UK & Germany, Earnings from Cisco Systems, CoreWeave, Alcon, Imperial Brands, Burberry, Daimler Truck, Brenntag & Por.

SNAPSHOT

• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

US TRADE

EQUITIES

• US stocks were mostly higher and extended on gains seen on Monday as the largely cooler-than-expected US CPI provided an additional fillip to US equity futures, while sentiment continued to improve throughout the US afternoon with broad-based risk-on trade observed.
• Nearly all US indices closed around highs including the S&P 500 which turned positive YTD although the Dow lagged amid losses across blue-chip pharmaceuticals following US President Trump's recent order to slash drug prices and with UnitedHealth shares plunging as its CEO steps down.
• SPX +0.72% at 5,887, NDX +1.58% at 21,198, DJI -0.64% at 42,140, RUT +0.49% at 2,102.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• US President Trump said China has agreed to open up to the US for trade which China has to do, and we'll see what happens. Trump later commented that they are trying to get China to open up, while he added his relationship with China is good and he could see himself dealing with Chinese President Xi on a deal, according to a Fox News interview.
• White House economic adviser Hassett said the administration has more than 20-25 deals on the table with deals close to being finalised and when President Trump returns, he will announce the next deal, according to a Fox interview.
• US-China trade ceasefire is to drive early Black Friday and Christmas stockpiling with ports and shipping companies expecting a surge in demand as retailers take advantage of lower tariffs on Chinese imports, according to the FT.
• US reportedly weighs letting UAE buy in excess of a million advanced NVIDIA (NVDA) chips, according to Bloomberg.
• China criticised a trade deal between the UK and US that could be used to squeeze Chinese products out of British supply chains, according to the FT.
• UK government said the trade remedies authority recommended that country-specific caps be imposed on certain categories of steel, while caps will come into effect from October 1st to allow steel importers time to adjust.
• Mexico's Economy Minister said they hope to start the USMCA review as soon as possible to give consumers and investors clarity.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• US President Trump said the market will go higher and it is amazing what a climbing market will do.
• US President Trump posted on Truth Social “No Inflation, and Prices of Gasoline, Energy, Groceries, and practically everything else, are DOWN!!! THE FED must lower the RATE, like Europe and China have done. What is wrong with Too Late Powell? Not fair to America, which is ready to blossom? Just let it all happen, it will be a beautiful thing!”
• US President Trump said there will be deals with Amazon (AMZN), Oracle (ORCL), AMD (AMD), Uber (UBER), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and Qualcomm (QCOM), while he also commented that USD 1tln of investment will be added into the US from the Saudi trip. In relevant news, Saudi Arabia and NVIDIA (NVDA) are to build AI factories to power the next wave of intelligence for the age of reasoning and to deploy 6k Blackwell GPUs.
• US House Speaker Johnson said the GOP will likely reach a deal on the state and local taxes cap on Wednesday.

APAC TRADE

EQUITIES

• APAC stocks traded somewhat mixed but with the region predominantly in the green following the momentum from the constructive performance on Wall St, where most major indices closed higher in the aftermath of the softer-than-expected US CPI data, although demand was contained overnight amid a lack of fresh major catalysts and as participants digested earnings releases.
• ASX 200 lacked firm direction as strength in energy and tech was counterbalanced by weakness in utilities and consumer stocks, while financials were rangebound despite Australia's largest bank CBA reporting an increase in profits.
• Nikkei 225 wiped out opening gains and briefly reverted to a sub-38,000 level with the list of worst performers in the index dominated by companies that had just reported earnings results.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp gained amid strength in Chinese healthcare stocks and tech names leading the upside in Hong Kong ahead of Tencent and Alibaba earnings results scheduled for today and tomorrow, respectively, while the upside in the mainland was limited amid a lack of major fresh catalysts.
• US equity futures trade sideways as participants await the next macro drivers to spur price action and with no major tier-1 releases scheduled today.
• European equity futures indicate a lower cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures down 0.2% after the cash market closed with gains of 0.4% on Tuesday.

FX

• DXY traded little changed beneath the 101.00 level after yesterday's selling pressure amid headwinds from the mostly softer-than-expected US CPI data and with Real Weekly Earnings at a contraction, while there was also a lack of appeal for the dollar due to the positive risk appetite in Wall St trade. Nonetheless, price action quietened overnight amid a lack of fresh catalysts and with US President Trump currently in the Middle East, where he secured a USD 600bln investment commitment from Saudi Arabia.
• EUR/USD plateaued after it advanced against the dollar but stalled just shy of the 1.1200 handle. Furthermore, there was little reaction in the single currency from to the recent ECB rhetoric, while today's calendar is also light with German and Spanish Final CPI readings the only notable data releases from the bloc.
• GBP/USD held on to its gains and retained the 1.3300 status after it benefited from a weaker buck and outperformance in cyclical peers.
• USD/JPY continued to trickle lower and eventually breached the 147.00 level to the downside amid softer US yields and with little in the way of fresh macro catalysts.
• Antipodeans remained underpinned after outperforming alongside the mostly positive risk appetite, while the latest Australian Wage Price data also topped forecasts.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1956 vs exp. 7.1813 (Prev. 7.1991)

FIXED INCOME

• 10yr UST futures rebounded off a monthly low and returned to above the 110.00 level after declining yesterday as havens were shunned.
• Bund futures languished at a monthly low at the sub-130.00 territory ahead of German CPI and EUR 2.5bln of Bund supply.
• 10yr JGB futures remained afloat but with price action stuck within a thin range after Japanese PPI data matched forecasts.

COMMODITIES

• Crude futures mildly pulled back after the prior day's advances which were facilitated by the heightened risk appetite as opposed to any specific headline driver, while prices were contained overnight following the latest private sector inventory data which showed a surprise build in headline crude stockpiles.
• US Private Inventory Data (bbls): Crude +4.3mln (exp. -1.1mln), Distillate -3.7mln (exp. 0.1mln), Gasoline -1.4mln (exp. -0.6mln), Cushing -0.9mln.
• Spot gold gradually declined following the recent choppy performance and dollar fluctuations.
• Copper futures partially faded yesterday's gains amid the mixed risk appetite during Asia-Pac trade.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin gradually retreated throughout the session after dipping back beneath the USD 104,000 level.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• South Korea is preparing support measures for small and medium-sized firms expected to be hit by tariffs, according to Reuters citing the government.

DATA RECAP

• Japanese Corp Goods Price MM (Apr) 0.2% vs. Exp. 0.2% (Prev. 0.4%)
• Japanese Corp Goods Price YY (Apr) 4.0% vs. Exp. 4.0% (Prev. 4.2%)
• Australian Wage Price Index QQ (Q1) 0.9% vs. Exp. 0.8% (Prev. 0.7%)
• Australian Wage Price Index YY (Q1) 3.4% vs. Exp. 3.2% (Prev. 3.2%)

GEOPOLITICS

MIDDLE EAST

• US President Trump said the biggest destructive force in the Middle East is Iran and he wants to make a deal with Iran but added if Iran rejects the olive branch, they have no choice but to inflict maximum pressure and would drive Iranian oil exports to zero. Trump added that the choice is Iran's to make and the Iran offer will not last forever.
• Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said they have made it clear that no agreement will be reached with the US without concrete guarantees, according to Iran International. It was also reported that Iran is to hold talks with European parties on Friday in Istanbul, according to European and Iranian sources cited by Reuters.US Treasury said it is imposing sanctions to target the global network shipping Iranian oil and funding Iran's military and 'terrorist activities', while it is sanctioning nearly two dozen firms operating in multiple jurisdictions.
• US President Trump said he will order the cessation of sanctions against Syria and made the decision after discussions with the Saudi Crown Prince and Turkish President Erdogan.
• Israel's military said it identified the launch of a missile towards Israeli territory from Yemen which was intercepted.
• Jordanian army said a rocket of unknown origin landed in a desert area in the Ma'an, according to a source via X.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• US President Trump said they are working hard to end the Russia-Ukraine bloodshed and talks could produce good results, while he added Secretary of State Rubio will go to the Russia-Ukraine talks.
• French President Macron said in the case of non-respect of a ceasefire in Ukraine, their desire is to impose new sanctions on Russia in the coming days which could involve financial services, oil and gas.

OTHER

• China's Defence Minister met with the UN Secretary General on Tuesday and said that China will put forward new peacekeeping commitments, while China will support the reform and transformation of UN peacekeeping. Furthermore, the Minister said China is always a staunch supporter and constructive force for UN peacekeeping operations, according to Xinhua.