US stocks finished higher following a late-session rip - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

• US stocks finished higher thanks to a late-session rip into the close with month-end selling not as large as expected and perhaps indicative of the bulk of it being in the rear-view ahead of the long weekend, while there was no tier-one data or major catalysts to set the tone heading into comments in the evening from Fed's Waller at the Economic Club of NY. Treasuries rallied further and bull-flattened in thin trade with a strong 7-year auction marking the low in yields for the session.
• USD was ultimately flat amid light newsflow and a very quiet data calendar with traders awaiting comments from Fed's Waller after hours who will be speaking on the economic outlook.
• Looking ahead, highlights include Australian Retail Sales & Private Sector Credit, New Zealand Business Confidence, BoJ Summary of Opinions from the March Meeting, Comments from Fed's Waller.

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LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include Australian Retail Sales & Private Sector Credit, New Zealand Business Confidence, BoJ Summary of Opinions from the March Meeting, Comments from Fed's Waller.
• Click here for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

US TRADE

• US stocks finished higher thanks to a late-session rip into the close with month-end selling not as large as expected and perhaps indicative of the bulk of it being in the rear-view ahead of the long weekend, while there was no tier-one data or major catalysts to set the tone heading into comments in the evening from Fed's Waller at the Economic Club of NY. Treasuries rallied further and bull-flattened in thin trade with a strong 7-year auction marking the low in yields for the session.
• SPX +0.86% at 5,248, NDX +0.39% at 18,280, DJIA +1.22% at 39,760, RUT +2.13% at 2,114.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

FX

• USD was ultimately flat amid light newsflow and a very quiet data calendar with traders awaiting comments from Fed's Waller after hours who will be speaking on the economic outlook.
• EUR traded little changed against the dollar with varied Spanish CPI data and in-line EU Consumer Confidence not providing much to spur price action in the single currency.
• GBP swung between gains and losses in a relatively rangebound session amid the lack of pertinent catalysts.
• JPY mildly recovered after weakening to fresh 33-year lows which was helped after news that the BoJ, MoF and FSA were to hold a meeting although subsequent comments from Japan's top currency diplomat Kanda mostly echoed recent jawboning.
• South African Repo Rate (Mar) 8.25% vs. Exp. 8.25% (Prev. 8.25%)
• Riksbank maintained its rate at 4.00% as expected, while it stated that it is likely that the policy rate can be cut in May or June if inflation prospects remain favourable and that monetary policy needs to be adjusted cautiously. Furthermore, it stated there are risks that could cause inflationary pressures to rise again and monetary policy should therefore be adjusted.
• SNB Chairman Jordan said the bank looks at the exchange rate closely and intervenes in the forex market when necessary, as well as noted that the SNB has no set goal for the Franc rate and demand for the Swiss Franc has come from Swiss investors. Furthermore, he said the bank has reduced the size of the balance sheet which has helped tackle inflation, while there were also comments from SNB’s Vice Chairman that lower inflation pressure allowed them to lower interest rates.

FIXED INCOME

• Treasuries rallied further and bull-flattened in thin trade with a strong 7-year auction marking the low in yields for the session.

COMMODITIES

• Oil prices saw two-way price action with early selling pressure and headwinds from bearish US inventory data in a holiday-thinning trading environment before gradually clawing back losses.
• US EIA Weekly Crude Stocks w/e 3.165M vs. Exp. -1.2M (Prev. -1.952M)
• Russian natural gas production totalled 110BCM in January and February which is up 11.3% vs the same period in 2023 and February production was up 16.3% Y/Y, according to Rosstat data.
• Exports of four key Nigerian crude oil programmes will rise to 719,700 BPD in May from 654,700 BPD in April, according to a preliminary programme.
• India's BSE said it will launch contracts of WTI and Brent crude oil futures and options.
• India's gold imports are set to fall over 90% in March M/M due to high prices and imports seen between 10-11 metric tonnes (vs 110 in February), according to Reuters citing sources.

GEOPOLITICAL

• Israeli PM Netanyahu said his decision to not send a delegation to Washington was a message to Hamas that international pressures on Israel will not work. However, it was later reported that Israel PM Netanyahu’s office told the White House it wants to reschedule the cancelled meeting on Gaza's Rafah, according to NBC citing a US official.
• Israeli official said PM Netanyahu is considering sending his high-level delegation to Washington as early as next week, while the White House said the Israeli PM's office agreed to reschedule a meeting with the US on Rafah and the US is working to set a date for the meeting.
• Israeli military council will discuss the Hamas response to the truce proposal and the future of negotiations, according to Sky News Arabia.
• Israel is reportedly planning to launch a ground military operation in Rafah by the middle of April or early May at the latest, according to Egyptian sources cited by pro-Hezbollah Al-Akhbar daily.
• Israel may not be able to destroy Hamas despite six months of intense fighting in Gaza, intelligence officials have admitted, according to the Telegraph.
• US State Department said the US does not think the hostage talks are over.
• Israeli strike killed five people in southern Lebanon including Hezbollah fighters, according to Reuters sources.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Chinese President Xi said in a meeting with Dutch PM Rutte that China is ready to import more high-quality goods from the Netherlands and welcomes their investment in China, while he hopes the Netherlands will provide a fair and transparent environment. Furthermore, Xi hopes the EU side will be prudent in introducing restrictive economic and trade policies and use trade remedy measures.
• US Commerce Department official said the Biden administration is urging allies to bar companies from servicing certain chipmaking tools for Chinese customers.
• Japan’s top currency diplomat Kanda said recent yen moves are not reflecting fundamentals, while he is closely watching FX moves with a huge sense of urgency and will not rule out any steps to respond to disorderly FX moves. Furthermore, Kanda said he does not consider a 4% move in a span of 2 weeks a mild move and it was also noted that a BoJ official said if FX market moves affect the economy and price trends, the BoJ would respond through monetary policy.
• RBNZ Governor Orr said he sees signs for 'more normalised' rates on the horizon.
• RBI will keep increasing FX reserves as it seeks to build larger buffers and as strong inflows into the country's equity and debt markets provide an opportunity to do so, according to Reuters reports citing sources.

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• UK Trade Ministry spokesperson said Canada decided not to roll over post-Brexit rules of origin arrangements and will increase the cost of trade.
• ECB's Cipollone said uncertainty around inflation is decreasing and he is increasingly confident that inflation will converge to 2% by mid-2025, while he added the current economic environment allows for a recovery in real wages in the short term that will not fuel inflation.

DATA RECAP

• Spanish CPI Flash NSA MM (Mar) 0.8% vs. Exp. 0.6% (Prev. 0.4%)
• Spanish HICP Flash MM (Mar) 1.3% vs. Exp. 1.2% (Prev. 0.4%)
• Spanish CPI Flash NSA YY (Mar) 3.2% vs. Exp. 3.2% (Prev. 2.8%)
• Spanish HICP Flash YY (Mar) 3.2% vs. Exp. 3.3% (Prev. 2.9%)
• EU Business Climate (Mar) -0.3 (Prev. -0.42, Rev. -0.41)
• EU Industrial Sentiment (Mar) -8.8 vs. Exp. -9.0 (Prev. -9.5, Rev. -9.4)
• EU Consumer Confidence Final (Mar) -14.9 vs. Exp. -14.9 (Prev. -14.9)
• EU Services Sentiment (Mar) 6.3 vs. Exp. 7.8 (Prev. 6.0)
• EU Economic Sentiment (Mar) 96.3 vs. Exp. 96.3 (Prev. 95.4, Rev. 95.5)