Weekend News Roundup - Newsquawk Daily Asia-Pac Market Open

• US stocks closed with gains on Friday as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperformed amid chunky gains in semiconductor names and the broad-based mega-caps. Intel had another positive catalyst, as it and Apple (AAPL) reached a preliminary chip-making agreement. As expected, while sectors were mixed, Tech was the clear gainer, with Utilities residing at the bottom of the breakdown. It was a broadly risk-on trade to end the week, and was helped by a stellar US jobs report, as the headline topped expectations, the unemployment rate remained unchanged, and wages were cooler than expected.
• US President Trump posted, “I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called “Representatives.” I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”.
• Iran submitted its response to the latest proposal by the US to end the war. Iranian state media later stated that the US proposal amounted to Iran surrendering to Trump’s excessive demands, while Iran’s proposal stressed the need for the US to pay compensation for war damages and emphasised Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
• Looking ahead, highlights include Australian Building Approvals, Chinese CPI & PPI.

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LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include Australian Building Approvals, Chinese CPI & PPI.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

IRAN CONFLICT

• US President Trump posted, “I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called “Representatives.” I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”. Trump previously posted that “Iran has been playing games with the United States, and the rest of the World, for 47 years (DELAY, DELAY, DELAY!), and then finally hit “pay dirt” when Barack Hussein Obama became President. He was not only good to them, he was great, actually going to their side, jettisoning Israel, and all other Allies, and giving Iran a major and very powerful new lease on life. Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and 1.7 Billion Dollars in green cash, flown into Tehran, was handed to them on a silver platter.”
• Iran submitted its response to the latest proposal by the US to end the war, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency, while Tehran hasn’t provided any public indication yet on whether it will accept US President Trump’s proposal for Iran to permit passage through the Strait of Hormuz and for the US to end its blockade on Iranian ports in the next month. Furthermore, Iranian state media later stated that the US proposal amounted to Iran surrendering to Trump’s excessive demands, while Iran’s proposal stressed the need for the US to pay compensation for war damages and emphasised Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
• Iran reportedly was offering a shorter uranium enrichment suspension than the 20-year US proposal and rejected dismantling its nuclear facilities in any future talks with the US, according to WSJ. It was separately reported that the semi-official YJC News Agency cited an Al Mayadeen report which noted that Iran said the US deal must end the war and trigger 30-day talks, while it stated Hormuz control and a Lebanon ceasefire are red lines, as well as demanded an end to oil sanctions and asset release.
• US and Iran were reported on Friday to be working with mediators to formulate a 14-point MoU that would set the parameters for a month of talks to end the war, and talks could resume as early as next week in Islamabad, according to WSJ. This would involve the US winding back its blockade of Iranian ports during 30 days of talks, although Iran remained opposed to transferring nuclear material to the US, according to an Iranian official.
• National Security Commission of Iran member said on Friday that from now on, the actions of the US for the maritime blockade will be met with Iran's military response, while it was also stated that the US should put some escorts for its destroyers so that they can save their forces if they sink, according to Fars.
• Iranian official said on Friday that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has recovered from his injury and is in perfect health, according to Al Hadath.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu said the war with Iran isn’t over, as there is nuclear material in Iran which still needs to be removed. It was also reported that Israeli PM Netanyahu was set to have a call with US President Trump.
• UK is to deploy a warship to the Middle East as part of planning for a European-led mission to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz once a stable ceasefire is established.

US TRADE

• US stocks closed with gains on Friday as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperformed amid chunky gains in semiconductor names and the broad-based mega-caps. Intel had another positive catalyst, as it and Apple (AAPL) reached a preliminary chip-making agreement. As expected, while sectors were mixed, Tech was the clear gainer, with Utilities residing at the bottom of the breakdown. It was a broadly risk-on trade to end the week, and was helped by a stellar US jobs report, as the headline topped expectations, the unemployment rate remained unchanged, and wages were cooler than expected.
• SPX +0.81% at 7,397, NDX +2.35% at 29,235, DJI +0.02% at 49,609, RUT +0.71% at 2,860.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• US President Trump posted “Any money paid to the United States of America does not have to be paid back” — That sentence, if added by the Supreme Court to its highly disputed Tariff decision, would have saved America 159 Billion Dollars!”
• US President Trump posted “ALL FEDERAL AGENCIES MUST BUY AMERICAN — NO EXCUSES! For decades, Washington politicians sent your Taxpayer Dollars overseas, and let Foreign Countries rip us off while our Workers, Factories, and Supply Chains were left behind. That betrayal is OVER. My Administration is strengthening MADE IN AMERICA Laws, ENDING Waiver Loopholes, and STOPPING the Federal Government from buying Foreign Products when Great American Products are available…”
• US Treasury Secretary Bessent confirmed he is to depart on Monday for a quick series of meetings in Japan and South Korea.
• Canadian PM Carney said Canada is open-minded to developing deeper trade ties with the US and Mexico in certain industries to boost economic prosperity in North America.
• China urged Germany to play a constructive role in averting the EU from drifting further towards protectionism, while China also called for France to play an active role in helping keep EU markets open through dialogue.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Fed’s Waller (voter) said the 12 regional Fed banks agreed to a framework to standardise and centralise some functions, including back-office operations.
• Fed's Goolsbee (2027 voter) said on Friday that inflation is "the topic of the moment", and it would be wrong to only think that rate cuts are before the Fed, while he added they have to pay attention to the inflation rate when price pressures are mounting. Goolsbee also stated that the Fed's balance sheet can be smaller, but it is unclear if it needs to be, and he is open to considering Warsh’s ideas about changing Fed communications.
• Goldman Sachs pushed back its calls for the next two Fed rate cuts by a quarter to December 2026 and March 2027 amid stickier-than-anticipated inflation.

DATA RECAP

• US Non Farm Payrolls (Apr) 115K vs. Exp. 73K (Prev. 178K, Low. -15K, High. 150K); Two month net revisions -16k (prev. -7k), February -23k to -156k, March +7k to 185k
• US Unemployment Rate (Apr) 4.3% vs. Exp. 4.3% (Prev. 4.3%)
• US Average Hourly Earnings MoM (Apr) M/M 0.2% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. 0.2%)
• US Average Hourly Earnings YoY (Apr) Y/Y 3.6% (Prev. 3.5%)

COMMODITIES

• Saudi Aramco said that a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is no quick fix and that it would take months for the market to return to normal, even if the crucial waterway was reopened immediately, while the company reported a 25% jump in profits for Q1 amid higher oil prices and its ability to redirect exports through a pipeline bypassing Hormuz. It was separately reported that the Iran war is burning through the world’s oil inventories at a record pace.
• Qatar appeared to have sent its first LNG shipment through the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the start of the Iran war, while Pakistan is in talks with Iran to allow more Qatar LNG cargoes to transit through Hormuz, according to Bloomberg.
• Iraq raised its June Basrah medium crude price to Asia to a premium of USD 4.30/bbl vs Oman/Dubai quotes.
• US President Trump’s administration is open to suspending the federal gas tax, according to NBC.
• China's gold output declined in Q1 amid safety inspections and output suspensions, according to data from the China Gold Association.

GEOPOLITICAL

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• US President Trump announced on Friday that there will be a three-day ceasefire in the war between Ukraine and Russia on May 9th, 10th, and 11th for Victory Day, while he said the ceasefire will include a suspension of all kinetic activity, and also a prison swap of 1,000 prisoners from each country.
• US President Trump posted “We just secured the release of three Polish, and two Moldovan, prisoners from Belarusian and Russian detention. Thanks to my Special Presidential Envoy, John Coale, we were able to push hard to make this release happen.”
• Ukraine and Russia both claimed the other side had violated the US-brokered ceasefire.
• Russia’s Kremlin said US envoys Witkoff and Kushner will visit Moscow ‘soon enough’ to continue dialogue, according to Ifax.
• Japan is mulling sending officials to Russia as soon as month-end to maintain communications with Moscow to support Japanese companies that are still operating there, according to the Japanese Trade Ministry.

OTHER

• US is increasing the number of surveillance flights off the coast of Cuba and has carried out at least 25 flights using manned aircraft and drones since February 4th, according to CNN citing data from FlightRadar24.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• China vowed to boost efforts to defuse local government debt risks whilst supporting growth, while the State Council called for stronger policy execution.
• ByteDance raised its planned AI infrastructure spending for this year by 25% to CNY 200bln.
• Australian Treasurer Chalmers said the upcoming budget will target surging home prices and will aim to make it easier for people to gain a foothold in the housing market, according to Bloomberg.

DATA RECAP

• Chinese Balance of Trade (USD)(Apr) 84.8B vs. Exp. 82.4B (Prev. 51.13B)
• Chinese Exports YY (USD)(Apr) 14.1% vs Exp. 8.2% (Prev. 2.5%)
• Chinese Imports YY (USD)(Apr) 25.3% vs Exp. 17.3% (Prev. 27.8%)

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• UK PM Starmer faces a fresh leadership threat with Labour Party lawmaker Catherine West threatening to trigger a leadership contest unless cabinet ministers take steps to remove the PM by Monday, following last week’s heavy election loss. In relevant news, PM Starmer told the Observer newspaper that he wants to remain in his job for a decade and that he will lead the Labour Party into the next election.
• UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting told UK PM Starmer that he is preparing his case to be the next UK PM if a contest is triggered, but will not challenge the leader directly, according to The Telegraph.
• ECB President Lagarde said the ECB is carefully considering its response to the Iran war and the impact on inflation to ensure it doesn’t act too prematurely or too late, while she stated that policymakers face huge uncertainty and need a lot more data to understand the repercussions of the war.
• ECB’s Escriva said central banks must review the resilience of financial infrastructure amid the increase in AI, and also defend their role as ultimate guarantor against risks from stablecoins.
• ECB's Nagel said on Friday that they will do whatever is needed to contain energy price jumps, and that the ECB is highly alert to increasing inflation risks.