US stocks finished mostly higher amid tech strength, while bond selling persisted - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

US stocks were mostly positive and the major indices finished in the green albeit with varying degrees as the Nasdaq outperformed amid the advances in Nvidia (NVDA) after MS named the stock a top pick ahead of earnings and the mega-cap tech names (AAPL, MSFT and AMZN) also saw a decent session. S&P 500 was firmer and the Dow was relatively flat, while the Russell 2000 closed in the red with the downside led by losses in the regional banks.
USD was firmer in quiet summer trade amid higher yields and a choppy day of risk conditions in which the early upward momentum lifted the DXY to briefly above its 200DMA at 103.29 before giving back some of the gains.
Looking ahead, highlights include Australian Wage Price Index, Japanese GDP, Chinese Industrial Production & Retail Sales, PBoC MLF, RBA Minutes, Supply from Japan, Holiday Closures in South Korea & India.

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Highlights include Australian Wage Price Index, Japanese GDP, Chinese Industrial Production & Retail Sales, PBoC MLF, RBA Minutes, Supply from Japan, Holiday Closures in South Korea & India.

US TRADE

US stocks were mostly positive and the major indices finished in the green albeit with varying degrees as the Nasdaq outperformed amid the advances in Nvidia (NVDA) after MS named the stock a top pick ahead of earnings and the mega-cap tech names (AAPL, MSFT and AMZN) also saw a decent session. S&P 500 was firmer and the Dow was relatively flat, while the Russell 2000 closed in the red with the downside led by losses in the regional banks.
SPX +0.57% at 4,489, NDX +1.18% at 15,205, DJIA +0.07% at 35,307, RUT -0.24% at 1,920.
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NOTABLE HEADLINES

NY Fed July SCE Median 1yr ahead inflation expectations fell to 3.5% from 4.1% which is the lowest since April 2021, while 3yr inflation expectations fell to 2.9% from 3.0% and 5yr inflation expectations fell to 2.9% from 3.0%.
Cleveland Fed manufacturing and service sector 1yr ahead inflation expectations fell to 4.3% in July from 5.0% in April which is the lowest reading in two years.
FDIC Chairman said the US is considering making banks issue long-term debt to boost stability.

US Treasuries continued bear-flattening post-PPI in quiet summer trade ahead of a sparse US data calendar.

USD was firmer in quiet summer trade amid higher yields and a choppy day of risk conditions in which the early upward momentum lifted the DXY to briefly above its 200DMA at 103.29 before reversing some of the gains.
EUR remained subdued owing to the dollar strength and momentarily dipped beneath the 1.0900 handle
GBP clawed back most of its early losses but failed to reclaim the 1.2700 handle as jobs and earnings data loom.
JPY continued its weakening trend which saw USD/JPY make further headway north of the 145.00 level.
CBR is to hold an unscheduled key rate meeting on August 15th to be published at 08:30BST. Russia’s central bank earlier said it still sees no threats to financial stability in current Rouble dynamics and that a rate hike is possible at the next meetings.

Crude was lower after seven consecutive weeks of gains with headwinds from a firmer dollar and China concerns.
US total shale regions September oil production is seen -19k BPD to 9.415mln (prev. saw -15k BPD in August), according to EIA.
Kuwait set September KEC crude official selling price m for Asia at Oman/Dubai +USD 2.85/bbl, according to Reuters.
Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry said they may adjust the oil production forecast for 2023 due to power outages, according to Interfax.
Russia's July seaborne oil product exports rose 3.8% from June, according to Reuters sources and calculations.
Russia stopped gasoline exports to Iran a few months ago, according to Iran International sources who noted that Moscow knew Iran needs to import 10mln litres of gasoline per day to make up for its deficit but still halted the exports.

Russian Defence Ministry said Russian strategic bombers carried out flights over the Arctic, according to RIA. Russian Defence Ministry also reportedly scrambled a MIG-29 jet due to a Norwegian jet over the Barents Sea, according to TASS.
UK government said RAF Typhoon jets intercepted Russian bombers flying north of Scotland.
Iranian Foreign Ministry said Iran is committed to solving the nuclear dispute via diplomacy. Iran's Foreign Ministry also confirmed that its minister will visit Riyadh soon, according to Al Arabiya.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

PBoC adviser called for the urgent need to boost residential consumption.
Chinese cities are to lower the down payment for second-home buyers, according to Cailian.
China's Evergrande (3333 HK) said Evergrande NEV (708 HK) and subscribers entered into a share subscription and set-off agreement in which it conditionally agreed to allot and issue an aggregate of 5.44bln new shares at HKD 3.84 with an aggregate subscription amount of HKD 20.9bln.
Country Garden (2007 HK) was reportedly looking to extend maturing CNY bonds over three years, according to Bloomberg. However, Country Garden sources later suggested there is no internal information that the Co. was looking at a possible bond payment extension.
China seeks further investment from UAE companies, according to a minister.
India raised its windfall tax on petroleum crude to INR 7100/tonne (prev. 4250/tonne) with effect from August 15th, while it raised the windfall tax on diesel to INR 5.50/litre from 1/litre and raised the windfall tax on aviation turbine fuel to INR 2/litre from nil, according to Reuters citing a notification.

DATA RECAP