Weekend News Roundup - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

• US stocks were choppy on Friday with an initial risk-off tone amid ongoing concerns over AI valuations and following more weak data with the UoM Survey painting a bleak picture of consumer sentiment amid the government shutdown. Stocks then hit lows just after Europe left for the day before the downside gradually started to pare, with a lift seen in late trade on the Democrats offering a compromise by proposing a one-year extension of Obamacare subsidies to end the government shutdown. However, Republicans rejected this - but stocks stayed near highs into the closing bell.
• China’s Commerce Ministry said it suspended the 2024 ban on approving exports to the US of dual-use items related to gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials until 27th November 2026.
• Chinese inflation data for October printed firmer-than-expected with CPI YY at 0.2% vs Exp. 0.0% (Prev. -0.3%).
• Looking ahead, highlights include Australian Building Approvals, Japanese Leading Index, BoJ Summary of Opinions, Comments from BoJ Board Member Nakagawa.

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LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include Australian Building Approvals, Japanese Leading Index, BoJ Summary of Opinions, Comments from BoJ Board Member Nakagawa.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

US TRADE

• US stocks were choppy on Friday with an initial risk-off tone amid ongoing concerns over AI valuations and following more weak data with the UoM Survey painting a bleak picture of consumer sentiment amid the government shutdown. Stocks then hit lows just after Europe left for the day before the downside gradually started to pare, with a lift seen in late trade on the Democrats offering a compromise by proposing a one-year extension of Obamacare subsidies to end the government shutdown. However, Republicans rejected this - but stocks stayed near highs into the closing bell.
• SPX +0.06% at 6,725, NDX -0.28% at 25,060, DJI +0.16% at 46,987, RUT +0.54% at 2,432.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• China’s Commerce Ministry said it suspended the 2024 ban on approving exports to the US of dual-use items related to gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials until 27th November 2026.
• China’s Commerce Ministry said China has taken measures to exempt the export of Nexperia chips compliant with civilian use, and it welcomes the European side to continue to urge the Dutch side to correct ‘wrongful’ practices. Mofcom also said that China hopes the Netherlands will promote the early resolution of the Nexperia semiconductor issue, and that China agreed to a request from the Dutch Economics Ministry to send officials to China for talks.
• EU Trade Commissioner Sefcovic said they welcome confirmation given by China’s MOFCOM on further simplification of export procedures for Nexperia chips to EU and global clients.
• India and Australia held further talks on boosting trade and economic ties, while they reaffirmed a desire for an “early conclusion” of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, according to Bloomberg citing a statement by the Indian government after India’s Commerce Minister Goyal met Australian Trade Minister Farrel.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Fed survey on Friday noted that policy uncertainty, including trade policy, central bank independence and availability of economic data, was the most frequently cited risk to US financial stability, while AI was added as a top stability concern, and respondents also cited geopolitical risks, inflation, monetary tightening, and higher long-term rates as top salient risks.
• Fed’s Williams (voter) said the gap between rich and poor risks a US downturn and suggested that poorer Americans’ mounting problems could be a factor in whether the central bank cuts rates in December, while he sees a balancing act for the December rate meeting, according to FT.
• Fed’s Miran (voter) said on Friday that widespread use of stablecoins could argue for lower Fed rates and would likely lower the neutral rate, while it could increase the risk of hitting the zero lower bound.
• US President Trump called for Senate Republicans to send government money given to health insurance companies and send it directly to the people.
• US Treasury Secretary Bessent said the impact of the government shutdown on the economy is getting worse and worse, while he also stated that they are making substantial progress on inflation and expect prices to come down over the coming months. Bessent also commented that President Trump’s suggestion that Americans may receive a tariff “dividend” of at least USD 2,000 could come via the tax cuts passed in his signature economic policy bill earlier this year.
• White House Economic Adviser Hassett said US GDP could be negative in Q4 if the government shutdown drags on.
• US Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to withhold billions in funding for food aid for now. It was separately reported that the Trump admin ordered US states to stop paying full food aid benefits to low-income American families and said that they are "unauthorised".
• Boeing (BA) spokesperson said they recommended to the three operators of the MD-11 freighter that they suspend flight operations, while UPS (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) spokespersons said they made the decision to immediately ground their MD-11 fleets following the Louisville crash.
• NVIDIA (NVDA) CEO said they have very strong demand in Blackwell chips, while he added business is growing strongly and there will be a shortage of different things. Furthermore, he said Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron have scaled up capacity to support them.

COMMODITIES

• Iraq set the December Basrah medium crude Official Selling Price to Asia at minus USD 0.35/bbl vs Oman/Dubai average, while it set the OSP to Europe at minus USD 2.95/bbl vs Dated Brent and set OSP to North and South America at minus USD 1.35/bbl vs ASCI.
• White House said Hungary received an exemption from US sanctions for using Russian energy for a year.
• ExxonMobil CEO said they will “pace” spending on low-carbon projects due to disappointing customer demand and with government policies failing to provide the right incentives to create viable markets, according to FT.
• Industry group warned that EU climate rules risk energy security and that methane emission regulations due in 2027 will force cargoes to be diverted from Europe, according to FT.

GEOPOLITICAL

MIDDLE EAST

• Israel received the body of a deceased soldier from the Red Cross.
• Taliban spokesperson said the ceasefire that has been established has not been violated by them so far and it will continue to be observed, while he added that Pakistan is not ready to take responsibility for maintaining internal security of their own country, so negotiations didn’t yield a result.
• Turkish President Erdogan said a high-level Turkish delegation will visit Pakistan within a week to discuss Afghanistan ceasefire talks, aiming to conclude the process.
• Syria carried out a nationwide pre-emptive operation targeting Islamic State cells.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• Ukrainian President Zelensky said Russia launched 450 drones and 45 missiles to attack Ukraine’s energy sector and infrastructure.
• Ukrainian drone attack disrupted power and heating supply in Russia’s Voronezh.
• Russian Defence Ministry said Russian forces captured Rybne in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region and Russian forces hit energy facilities supporting the operations of Ukraine’s defence industry, while it noted that Ukrainian attempts to unblock surrounded units in the Kupiansk and Pokrovsk areas were repelled.
• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that he is ready to hold an in-person meeting with US Secretary of State Rubio and that regular contact with the US is important for discussing the Ukrainian issue, but noted that ending the conflict in Ukraine is impossible without eliminating its causes and taking Russian interests into account. Lavrov said work is being undertaken on Russian President Putin’s order to prepare proposals for potential Russian nuclear tests and that Russia is currently awaiting confirmation from the US that the anchorage agreements remain in force, while he stated that the US informed Russia via diplomatic channels that it is considering Putin’s proposal to adhere to the limits set out in nuclear arms control treaty after February 2026.

OTHER

• North Korea’s Defence Minister said North Korea will show more offensive actions and that the US nuclear carrier escalates tension in the Korean peninsula, while he added that US Secretary of Defense Hegseth's visit to the DMZ shows a hostile nature.
• China’s mission to the EU said China lodged a representation with the EU on Taiwan’s Vice President entering the European Parliament.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• China’s National Radio and Television Administration launched a campaign to address the spread of inappropriate animated videos.
• UK probes whether buses made in China can be turned off from far away after Norway found Yutong vehicles could be ‘stopped or rendered inoperable’ by the Chinese company, according to FT.

DATA RECAP

• Chinese CPI MM (Oct) 0.2% vs. Exp. 0.0% (Prev. 0.1%)
• Chinese CPI YY (Oct) 0.2% vs Exp. 0.0% (Prev. -0.3%)
• Chinese PPI YY (Oct) -2.1% vs. Exp. -2.2% (Prev. -2.3%)

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• UK faces an increase in young adults leaving the country owing to low salaries, rising tax burden and a lack of affordable housing, according to wealth managers cited by FT.
• ECB’s Sleijpen cautioned against signing off too easily on joint European bonds and said they ultimately only lead to higher debt, according to Bloomberg.
• Fitch affirmed Ireland at AA; Outlook Stable and affirmed Latvia at A-; Outlook Stable.