US stocks edged higher with tech lifted by earnings, while gains in the broader market were capped on the eve of the FOMC - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

US stocks were mostly positive with the Nasdaq 100 leading the gains as semiconductors were aided by NXPI results and futures also reacted after-hours to the better-than-expected earnings from the likes of Alphabet, Microsoft, Snap and Texas Instruments. Nonetheless, the gains in the broader market were limited on the eve of the FOMC and the Russell 2000 lagged alongside regional banks on the back of the PacWest merger takeover announcement.
USD traded within a relatively thin range as participants awaited the FOMC meeting where the Fed is widely expected to raise rates by 25bps which markets are expecting to be the last hike of the current cycle.
Highlights include Japanese Services PPI & Leading Index, Australian Quarterly & Monthly CPI, Singapore Industrial Production.

More Newsquawk in 2 steps:

1. Subscribe to the free premarket movers reports

2. Trial Newsquawk’s premium real-time audio news squawk box for 7 days

LOOKING AHEAD

Highlights include Japanese Services PPI & Leading Index, Australian Quarterly & Monthly CPI, Singapore Industrial Production.

US TRADE

US stocks were mostly positive with the Nasdaq 100 leading the gains as semiconductors were aided by NXPI results and futures also reacted after-hours to the better-than-expected earnings from the likes of Alphabet, Microsoft, Snap and Texas Instruments. Nonetheless, the gains in the broader market were limited on the eve of the FOMC and the Russell 2000 lagged alongside regional banks on the back of the PacWest merger takeover announcement.
SPX +0.28% at 4,567, NDX +0.73% at 15,561, DJIA +0.08% at 35,438, RUT +0.02% at 1,966.
Click here for a detailed summary.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

US President Biden said the administration is pushing insurers to improve access to mental health treatment, according to Reuters citing officials.
US House Speaker McCarthy said the House is considering an impeachment inquiry of President Biden.

After-Market Earnings

Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) Q2 2023 (USD): EPS 1.44 (exp. 1.34), Revenue 74.60bln (exp. 72.82bln)
Microsoft Corp (MSFT) Q4 2023 (USD): EPS 2.69 (exp. 2.55), Revenue 56.2bln (exp. 55.47bln)
Snap Inc (SNAP) Q2 2023 (USD): Adj. EPS -0.02 (exp. -0.04), Revenue 1.07bln (exp. 1.05bln)
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) Q2 2023 (USD): EPS 1.87 (exp. 1.76), Revenue 4.53bln (exp. 4.36bln)
Visa Inc (V) Q3 2023 (USD): EPS 2.16 (exp. 2.12), Revenue 8.1bln (exp. 8.06bln)

DATA RECAP

US Consumer Confidence (Jul) 117.0 vs. Exp. 111.8 (Prev. 109.7)
US Richmond Fed Comp. Index (Jul) -9.0 (Prev. -7.0, Rev. -8)
US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Shipments (Jul) -6.0 (Prev. -5.0)
US Richmond Fed Services Index (Jul) -2.0 (Prev. -3.0, Rev. -8)
US CaseShiller 20 MM SA (May) 1.0% vs. Exp. 0.7% (Prev. 0.9%)
US CaseShiller 20 YY NSA (May) -1.7% vs. Exp. -2.2% (Prev. -1.7%)

FIXED INCOME

US Treasuries continued to bear flatten amid strong consumer confidence data and a lacklustre 5yr auction ahead of FOMC.

FX

USD traded within a relatively thin range as participants awaited the FOMC meeting where the Fed is widely expected to raise rates by 25bps which markets are expecting to be the last hike of the current cycle.
EUR was softer and underperformed amongst G10 counterparts after disappointing German Ifo data.
GBP benefitted after improved UK manufacturing orders and also profiteered off the weaker Euro.
JPY strengthened with USD/JPY retreating beneath the 141.00 handle amid pre-BoJ positioning.

COMMODITIES

Crude continued its ascent higher to fresh multi-month highs after further stimulative pledges by China and potential supply concerns.
TC Energy's (TRP) Columbia Gas Transmission declared a force majeure on ‘Line VB’ due to an unplanned event near Strasburg, Virginia and physical deliveries to the Loudoun LNG interconnect were impacted.

GEOPOLITICAL

Russian President Putin is to visit China in October and a visit to Turkey is also in both countries' plans, although no firm date has been agreed yet, according to TASS.
Russia's Kremlin said President Putin and Belarusian leader Lukashenko discussed the Wagner Group and external threats.
Russian delegation is to visit North Korea this week led by the Russian Defence Minister, while the Defence Ministry said the visit to North Korea will contribute to strengthening military relations between the two countries, according to Al Arabiya.
Chinese naval fleet arrived at Russia's Vladivostok on July 24th for a friendly visit, according to Chinese state media.
Russian fighter jet damaged a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over Syria by releasing flares close to the American aircraft on Sunday morning local time, according to US military cited by WSJ.
Britain's UN envoy has information that indicates the Russian Military may start attacks against civilian shipping in the Black Sea, while the information indicates Russia has laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports and Ukrainian President Zelensky has been informed.
European Commission said they are ready to discuss the possibility of exporting grain through the Baltic ports, according to Al Arabiya. It was later reported that EU’s Agriculture Commissioner said the EU is ready to export almost all of Ukraine's exports via solidarity lanes.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE APAC HEADLINES

China appointed Pan Gongsheng as the new PBoC Governor after removing Yi Gang and appointed Wang Yi as Foreign Minister to replace Qin Gang.
China’s Foreign Minister urged to uphold multilateralism and preserve the multilateral system with the UN at its core and resist unilateralism and hegemonic practice. He also said efforts should be made to resolve differences through dialogue, while acts of decoupling and double standards are opposed.
China's Foreign Ministry said a senior official of the Japanese Defence Ministry grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs, while China is firmly opposed to this and has lodged stern representations with Japan, according to Global Times.
China’s securities regulator is to further deepen the reform and opening up of the capital market and said they continue to maintain stable financing channels for real estate enterprises in capital markets. China will push forward the reform of the registration system deeply and solidly, as well as promptly promote the implementation of new types of public REITS projects such as consumer infrastructure. Furthermore, they will support private enterprises to achieve high-quality development and will promote the healthy and sustainable development of platform enterprises.
Some Chinese steel mills have been ordered to cap output this year with the order to cap output to the same level as 2022, potentially curbing iron ore demand in China, according to Reuters sources.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority said it is not overly optimistic about the investment outlook for the rest of the year.

EU/UK