Weekend News Roundup - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

• US stocks traded somewhat mixed on Friday, with the Russell 2k outperforming, which rallied 1.2%, and the equal-weight ETF saw strong gains while the majority of sectors were green too, showing strong breadth with the heavy-weight sectors (Comms, Tech and Consumer Disc) weighing on broader index performance. The highlight of the session was the CPI report, which ultimately came in softer than expected on the headline, while core was in line with forecasts. Goods prices were supportive of the view that tariff-induced inflation is largely behind us, but services inflation continued to accelerate, which gave Fed's Goolsbee some concerns. T-notes were firmer across the curve in response to the inflation data, with the front end leading, seeing the curve bull steepen.
• US military is preparing for potential operations against Iran that could last for weeks if US President Trump orders an attack and the US fully expects Iran to retaliate, according to sources cited by Reuters.
• Looking ahead, highlights include Japanese GDP, Singapore Non-Oil Exports, Thailand GDP & Indian WPI, Markets in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, US & Canada are closed on Monday, while Hong Kong Markets will open half-day.

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LOOKING AHEAD

• Holiday Closures: Markets in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, US & Canada are closed on Monday, Hong Kong Markets will open half-day.
• Highlights include Japanese GDP, Singapore Non-Oil Exports, Thailand GDP & Indian WPI.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

US TRADE

• US stocks traded somewhat mixed on Friday, with the Russell 2k outperforming, which rallied 1.2%, and the equal-weight ETF saw strong gains while the majority of sectors were green too, showing strong breadth with the heavy-weight sectors (Comms, Tech and Consumer Disc) weighing on broader index performance. The highlight of the session was the CPI report, which ultimately came in softer than expected on the headline, while core was in line with forecasts. Goods prices were supportive of the view that tariff-induced inflation is largely behind us, but services inflation continued to accelerate, which gave Fed's Goolsbee some concerns. T-notes were firmer across the curve in response to the inflation data, with the front end leading, seeing the curve bull steepen.
• SPX +0.05% at 6,836, NDX +0.18% at 24,733, DJI +0.10% at 49,500, RUT +1.18% at 2,647.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• USTR Greer said the US and Ecuador expect to sign a trade agreement in the coming weeks.
• China will waive import value-added taxes on selected seeds, genetic resources and police dogs through to 2030 to increase agricultural competitiveness and breeding capacity. It was also reported that China will grant zero-tariff access to 53 African nations from May 1st, according to Bloomberg.
• Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his French and German counterparts that China and the EU are partners, not rivals, while he added that China and the EU should manage differences, deepen practical cooperation and work together on global challenges.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Fed's Goolsbee (2027 voter) said on Friday that they are still seeing pretty high services inflation, and he hopes they have seen the peak impact of tariffs, while the job market has been steady, with only modest cooling. Furthermore, he said CPI data had encouraging bits and some concerns, as well as noted that rates can still go down, but need to see progress on inflation.
• US President Trump said there will be voter ID rules in the mid-term elections this year, whether Congress approves it or not, and they will present a legal argument in an Executive Order. Furthermore, Trump said he has searched the depths of legal arguments not yet articulated nor vetted on this subject, and they will be presenting an irrefutable one in the very near future.
• Pentagon threatened to cut its ties with Anthropic over the company’s insistence that some limitations are kept on how the military uses its AI models.

COMMODITIES

• Slovak PM Fico said he has information that the Druzhba pipeline has been fixed after damage in Ukraine, although he believes that supplies to Hungary and Slovakia have become a part of political blackmail.
• Texas venture-backed startup Hertha Metal vowed mass production of steel with 25% cost savings, which could reduce US reliance on imports.

GEOPOLITICAL

MIDDLE EAST

• US military is preparing for potential operations against Iran that could last for weeks if US President Trump orders an attack and the US fully expects Iran to retaliate, according to sources cited by Reuters.
• US President Trump told Israeli PM Netanyahu during a meeting in December that he would support Israel striking Iran’s ballistic missile program if the US and Iran are not able to reach a deal, according to CBS.
• Iran confirmed that indirect talks between the US and Iran will resume in Geneva on Tuesday under the mediation of Oman, while Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi left for Geneva on Sunday.
• Iranian diplomat said Iran is open to nuclear deal compromises if the US discusses lifting sanctions, while it was also reported that Iran said potential energy, mining and aircraft deals are on the table in talks with the US.
• Israel’s cabinet approved the proposal to register West Bank lands as ‘state property’, while Palestinians condemned the ‘de facto annexation’ which Peace Now said likely amounts to a ‘mega land grab’.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• US President Trump said on Friday that Ukrainian President Zelensky is going to have to get moving and that Russia wants to get a deal.
• US Secretary of State Rubio said they don’t know if Russia is serious about finding an end to the war in Ukraine and will continue to test it, while it was reported that he met with Ukrainian President Zelensky on security and deepening defence and economic partnerships.
• Ukrainian drones targeted Russia’s Taman seaport and fuel tanks in the Black Sea region.
• UK and European allies were reported on Friday to be weighing seizing Russian shadow fleet ships and tightening curbs on Russia's economy.
• French Foreign Minister Barrot said some G7 nations have expressed a willingness to proceed with a maritime services ban on Russian oil, which they hope to include in the 20th sanctions package that they are actively preparing.

OTHER

• European Commission President von der Leyen said that they face the very distinct threat of outside forces trying to weaken their union, while she added that mutual defence is not an optional task for the European Union; it is an obligation within their own treaty, and it is their collective commitment to stand by each other in case of aggression.
• Pentagon said the US military struck an alleged drug cartel boat in the Caribbean, which killed three people.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Chinese President Xi called for the anchoring of economic growth around domestic demand as its main driver, in a speech during a key policy meeting late last year that was released on Sunday.
• China is to establish a permanent financial support framework to promote rural revitalisation and prevent a slide back into poverty, which represents a shift from transitional aid to long-term support.
• China’s market regulator summoned major online platform companies on Friday, including Alibaba, Douyin and Meituan, while it directed them to comply with laws and regulations, and rein in promotional practices, according to Bloomberg.
• US Secretary of State Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral ties.
• Disney (DIS) sent a ‘cease and desist’ letter to ByteDance over Seedance 2.0 and alleged that ByteDance has been infringing on its IP to train and develop an AI video generation model without compensation, according to Axios.
• RBI tightened rules for loans provided to brokers and proprietary firms in an effort to reduce market speculation.

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• BoE’s Mann said the UK economy is sluggish and tepid, with consumers spending less due to being scarred by high inflation.
• ECB President Lagarde said US President Trump’s “kick in the butt” has brought European leaders closer together, while she is preparing for geoeconomic fragmentation and recommends greater strategic autonomy for Europe in supply chains.
• ECB is to make its repo backstop available to all central banks with a satisfactory reputation beginning in Q3, with the ECB prepared to offer euro liquidity to monetary authorities around the world in an effort to prevent market tensions and increase global use of the single currency.