US stocks were mostly lower amid big tech weakness ahead of quarter-end - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

US stocks finished predominantly lower with underperformance in the Nasdaq as the downside was led by Communication, Consumer Discretionary and Technology names including losses in big tech stocks Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, while Tesla shares dropped by more than 6% following cautious commentary from Goldman Sachs. Conversely, small caps were resilient and the Russell 2000 closed in the green amid gains in the regional banking ETF KRE.
USD was flat to start the week in thin newsflow and as market participants await a slew of central bank speakers due to Sintra as well as a raft of US data on Tuesday including Richmond Fed, Consumer Confidence, Durable Goods and New Home Sales.
Looking ahead, Highlights include UK BRC Shop Price Index, BoJ Core CPI, Supply from Australia & Japan.

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LOOKING AHEAD

Highlights include UK BRC Shop Price Index, BoJ Core CPI, Supply from Australia & Japan.

US TRADE

US stocks finished predominantly lower with underperformance in the Nasdaq as the downside was led by Communication, Consumer Discretionary and Technology names including losses in big tech stocks Meta, Amazon and Microsoft, while Tesla shares dropped by more than 6% following cautious commentary from Goldman Sachs. Conversely, small caps were resilient and the Russell 2000 closed in the green amid gains in the regional banking ETF KRE.
SPX -0.44% at 4,329, NDX -1.36% at 14,689, DJIA -0.03% at 33,715, RUT +0.09% at 1,823.
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NOTABLE HEADLINES

Fed's Williams (voter) said restoring price stability is of paramount importance.
White House Economic Adviser said real wages were up on a monthly basis over the last six months.

DATA RECAP

US Dallas Fed Manufacturing Business Index (Jun) -23.2 (Prev. -29.1)

FIXED INCOME

US Treasuries settled flat after the weak German IFO-induced rally was reversed on supply and into month-end.

FX

USD was flat to start the week in thin newsflow and as market participants await a slew of central bank speakers due to Sintra as well as a raft of US data on Tuesday including Richmond Fed, Consumer Confidence, Durable Goods and New Home Sales.
EUR* was rangebound and retained the 1.0900 handle against the dollar despite the early headwinds from the mostly weaker-than-expected German Ifo data, while Econostream noted that ECB’s September meeting stands a decent chance of another rate hike based on recent conversations with several ECB insiders.
GBP lacked firm direction with early pressure in GBP/USD stemmed by support around 1.2700.
JPY was slightly firmer amid the cautious risk tone and renewed jawboning by Japanese officials.

COMMODITIES

Crude settled slightly firmer in what was a choppy start to the week amid light pertinent newsflow and after the Russian Wagner Group mutiny was swiftly called off over the weekend.
Russia extended its response measure to the price cap on Russian oil and oil products until the end of this year, according to a decree.

GEOPOLITICAL

Russian President Putin said those responsible for organising the rebellion will be brought to justice and that they took all measures to neutralise the danger, while he thanked the commanders and soldiers of Wagner who avoided bloodshed and said Wagner troops can either join the Russian army or go to Belarus.
Russian President Putin held a meeting with the heads of Russian Security Services including the Minister of Defence and also held a phone talk with UAE's Emir, according to Interfax.
US President Biden directed his national security team to monitor the Russian situation and made sure allies were on the same page, while the US made it clear it was not involved in Russia and it was too early to say where the Russian situation is going.
White House's Kirby said it is too soon to know where Wagner goes as an entity or Prigozhin's role as leader, while there is no indication that a threat to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is imminent. Kirby added that they had good and direct communications with the Russians over the course of the weekend and expect that to continue going forward.
US plans to announce as soon as Tuesday a new USD 500mln military aid package for Ukraine which includes ground vehicles, according to US officials cited by Reuters.
Russian fighter jets were scrambled after two UK warplanes were detected near the country's border, while RAF fighter jets made a U-turn as Russian aircraft approached and Russia's state border was not violated, according to Sky News.
Hezbollah said it shot down an Israeli drone that flew into Lebanese airspace, according to Walla's Elster.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE APAC HEADLINES

US Treasury Secretary Yellen reportedly plans a China trip in July while the US prepares investment curbs, according to Bloomberg.
Japanese PM Kishida, US President Biden and South Korean President Yoon are arranging to meet in Washington in late August, according to Asahi newspaper.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno said it is important for FX to move stably reflecting economic fundamentals and they are closely watching FX moves with a high sense of urgency, while he added that sudden and one-sided moves were seen in FX markets.
HKMA said it is to examine whether the three-tier banking system is still fit for purpose in light of market developments.

EU/UK