Weekend News Roundup - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

• US stocks gained on Friday with all major indices in the green and the Nasdaq posted a fresh record close as Tech and Communications outperformed, although Real Estate, Utilities and Industrials lagged, while sentiment was helped by recent Fed-related headlines including President Trump naming CEA Chair Miran to be the replacement for Fed Governor Kugler until the end of January, and amid optimism related to a Trump-Putin meeting which has since been confirmed for August 15th.
• US President Trump said he will meet with Russian President Putin on August 15th in Alaska, while Russia’s Kremlin confirmed an agreement was reached to organise a meeting between Russian President Putin and US President Trump.
• Chinese inflation data July was mixed with CPI YY at 0.0% vs. Exp. -0.1% (Prev. 0.1%), while PPI YY showed steeper-than-expected deflation of -3.6% vs. Exp. -3.3% (Prev. -3.6%).
• Looking ahead, highlights include Indonesian Retail Sales, Malaysian Unemployment Rate, Japanese Markets are Closed for Holiday.

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LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include Indonesian Retail Sales, Malaysian Unemployment Rate, Japanese Markets are Closed for Holiday.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

US TRADE

• US stocks gained on Friday with all major indices in the green and the Nasdaq posted a fresh record close as Tech and Communications outperformed, although Real Estate, Utilities and Industrials lagged, while sentiment was helped by recent Fed-related headlines including President Trump naming CEA Chair Miran to be the replacement for Fed Governor Kugler until the end of January, and amid optimism related to a Trump-Putin meeting which has since been confirmed for August 15th.
• SPX +0.79% at 6,390, NDX +0.95% at 23,611, DJI +0.44% at 44,162, RUT +0.17% at 2,218.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• US Treasury Secretary Bessent expects trade issues to be finished by October, according to Nikkei.
• Mexico’s government said it fixed minimum prices for exports of fresh tomatoes following the end of an antidumping investigation suspension agreement with the US, while it noted that the decision protects producers, prevents market distortions and ensures national supply.
• China wants the US to relax export controls on chips as part of a trade deal.
• US licensed NVIDIA (NVDA) to export chips to China after CEO Huang met with US President Trump, while it was also reported that NVIDIA and AMD (AMD) will pay 15% of China chip revenues to the US government, according to FT.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Fed’s Bowman (voter) said core PCE inflation appears to be moving much closer to the 2% target than is shown in the data and it is appropriate to look through temporarily elevated inflation, while she added that upside risks to inflation have diminished and she has more confidence that tariffs won’t mean persistent inflation. Furthermore, Bowman said delayed action risks further labour market erosion and the need for a possible bigger cut, as well as noted that the latest job market data reinforces her forecast for three rate cuts this year.
• US President Trump’s team was reported on Friday to have expanded the search for Fed Chair with new names added to the list, including former St. Louis Fed President James Bullard and Marc Sumerlin, who is a former George W. Bush adviser, according to WSJ.
• US President Trump’s administration is considering reclassification of marijuana as a less dangerous category of drug, according to WSJ.
• C3.ai (AI) reportd late on Friday prelim. Q1 (USD) adj. loss 57.7mln-59.9mln (exp. 23.5mln-33.5mln), rev. 70.2mln-70.4mln (exp. 100mln-109mln).

COMMODITIES

• Iraq set September Basrah medium crude official selling price to Asia at plus USD 2.15/bbl vs Oman/Dubai average and to Europe at minus USD 1.30/bbl vs Dated Brent, while it set the OSP to North and South America at minus USD 1.00/bbl vs ASCI, according to SOMO.
• Chile’s Codelco said the El Teniente copper mine was approved for a restart by the labour authority and it later announced that it restarted sectors of the El Teniente mine, plant and smelter.

GEOPOLITICAL

MIDDLE EAST

• Israeli PM Netanyahu said Israel has no choice but to complete the job and defeat Hamas due to the group’s refusal to lay down its arms, while the new Gaza offensive plans aim to tackle two remaining Hamas strongholds and Israel expects to conclude the new Gaza offensive plan fairly quickly.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu spoke with US President Trump and discussed Israel’s plan to take control of the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza to bring an end to the war in Gaza.
• White House Special Envoy Witkoff was reported to meet with Qatar’s PM on Saturday for discussions regarding an end to the Gaza war and the release of hostages.
• Iran said an IAEA official is to visit for talks to determine a framework for cooperation, although there are no plans for the IAEA to visit Iranian nuclear sites until there is framework for cooperation.
• Jordan said it will host a Jordanian-Syrian-American meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways to support the rebuilding of Syria.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• US President Trump said he will meet with Russian President Putin on August 15th in Alaska, while Russia’s Kremlin confirmed an agreement was reached to organise a meeting between Russian President Putin and US President Trump.
• White House is reportedly considering inviting Ukrainian President Zelensky to the Alaska summit and President Trump is open to a trilateral meeting in Alaska, although the White House is currently planning for a bilateral summit as requested by Russian President Putin.
• US VP Vance said the US is in the process of scheduling when Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky can sit down and discuss an end to the conflict, while the US will keep dialogue open with Ukraine but doesn’t think it will be productive to have Putin sit down with Zelensky ahead of a meeting with Trump. Furthermore, Vance said President Trump is thinking about tariffs on China for buying Russian oil but hasn’t made any firm decisions, according to a Fox News interview.
• Ukrainian President Zelensky said Ukraine cannot violate the constitution on territory and Ukrainians will not give their land to occupiers, while he added any solutions without Ukraine will be solutions against peace.
• Russian President Putin was reported on Friday to demand that Ukraine cede Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea, for Russia to halt the war, while Putin told Witkoff he would agree to a complete ceasefire if Ukraine agreed to withdraw forces from all of Ukraine's Eastern Donetsk region, according to WSJ citing Ukrainian and European officials.
• Joint statement from several EU and UK leaders stated they welcome US President Trump’s work to stop the killing in Ukraine and end Russia’s war of aggression, as well as achieve just and lasting peace and security for Ukraine. Furthermore, the joint statement noted they are convinced that only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end the war can succeed.
• Joint statement of the leaders of the Nordic-Baltic eight said they stand ready to contribute diplomatically, while maintaining substantial military and financial support to Ukraine. The joint statement also stated that they will continue to uphold and impose restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.
• Ukraine’s military said on Sunday that it struck an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region overnight, while it also announced that Russia attacked Zaporizhzhia with guided aerial bombs which hit residential areas, a bus station and a clinic.

OTHER

• South Korea’s military said North Korea is dismantling loudspeakers from the border area.
• Thai soldiers were injured in a landmine blast near the Cambodia border.

ASIA-PAC

DATA RECAP

• Chinese CPI MM (Jul) 0.4% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. -0.1%)
• Chinese CPI YY (Jul) 0.0% vs. Exp. -0.1% (Prev. 0.1%)
• Chinese PPI YY (Jul) -3.6% vs. Exp. -3.3% (Prev. -3.6%)