Weekend News Roundup - Newsquawk Daily Asia-Pac Market Open

• US stocks finished mixed on Friday as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperformed and saw gains, although the S&P 500 and the Dow closed in the red, while the main event was the US jobs report, which was strong and saw a hawkish reaction across markets as it increased the likelihood of a Fed rate hike at the September confab. For that, the clear catalysts come in the week ahead via the US inflation reports, which will likely dictate what the central bank does. Following the dataset, and as mentioned, it was a broad-based hawkish reaction as Treasuries and spot gold saw pressure, while the Dollar gained.
• US launched strikes against three Iranian crude oil tankers on Saturday, which destroyed one, in retaliation for the IRGC targeting US Navy warships with ballistic missiles, while Iran’s navy said it targeted three oil tankers that were travelling through unauthorised routes in the Strait of Hormuz and three additional US vessels in other areas.
• Iran's top security official Rezaei said Iran and Oman will sign agreed Strait of Hormuz passage maps in the coming days and that Iran will commit to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open when the US neither threatens Iran nor attacks it. Rezaei also stated that they will announce in the coming days and weeks a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz that starts from the US Navy's blockade line and extends through the strait into the Persian Gulf.
• Looking ahead, Highlights include Japanese Foreign Reserves & Leading Index, Thailand CPI, Holiday Closures in the US, Canada and Brazil on Monday.

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LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include Japanese Foreign Reserves & Leading Index, Thailand CPI, Holiday Closures in the US, Canada and Brazil on Monday.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

IRAN CONFLICT

• US launched strikes against three Iranian crude oil tankers on Saturday, which destroyed one, in retaliation for the IRGC targeting US Navy warships with ballistic missiles.
• Iran’s navy said it targeted three oil tankers that were travelling through unauthorised routes in the Strait of Hormuz and three additional US vessels in other areas.
• US President Trump said on Friday that they do intermittent strikes in Iran and that the Iran issue is a military conflict, while he added that they may hit Pickaxe Mountain very soon. Trump warned that if anything goes badly with Iran, they may hit them hard and have essentially taken over Iran. He also claimed there have been no shootings for days and there are no mines in the Strait.
• US Energy Secretary Wright said a nuclear deal with Iran may not be achievable in the near term and military action may be needed to address threats from Iran, according to ABC News.
• Iran's top security official Rezaei said Iran and Oman will sign agreed Strait of Hormuz passage maps in the coming days and that Iran will commit to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open when the US neither threatens Iran nor attacks it. Rezaei also stated that they will announce in the coming days and weeks a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz that starts from the US Navy's blockade line and extends through the strait into the Persian Gulf, and any ship identified entering this zone with the intention of passing through the strait will be added to the sanctions list. Furthermore, he said that Iran tested an Iranian anti-ship missile above a US warship for the first time and claimed the missile created 'hell' for the Americans 'and they fled'.
• Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Ghalibaf warned that Iran’s response to any attack against its interests and security would be faster, heavier and more painful.
• Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich said PM Netanyahu ordered the evacuation of certain settlement outposts in the West Bank.
• Israeli military announced that it struck southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launched drones towards Israeli soldiers in the security zone.
• Yemeni armed forces said they thwarted an attempt by Houthis to infiltrate the Dabab front, while they announced that warplanes struck Houthi positions in Balhaf and south of Hodeidah.

US TRADE

• US stocks finished mixed on Friday as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperformed and saw gains, although the S&P 500 and the Dow closed in the red, while the main event was the US jobs report, which was strong and saw a hawkish reaction across markets as it increased the likelihood of a Fed rate hike at the September confab. For that, the clear catalysts come in the week ahead via the US inflation reports, which will likely dictate what the central bank does. Following the dataset, and as mentioned, it was a broad-based hawkish reaction as Treasuries and spot gold saw pressure, while the Dollar gained.
• SPX -0.38% at 7,719, NDX +0.21% at 29,544, DJI -0.51% at 53,419, RUT +0.25% at 2,976.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• US President Trump said Canada’s dollar imbalance with the US is unacceptable.
• US President Trump said on Friday that they have the right to put tariffs on nations like Switzerland and have the right not to trade with financial elite countries, while he also stated that he gets along very well with Mexico's President.
• Japanese Trade Minister Akazawa said progress was made on the USD 550bln investment initiative that was set up as part of a trade deal with the US.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Fed's Hammack (2026 voter) said on Friday that Fed policy is not restrictive and inflation is too high, while she stated local contact views indicate now is the time for a Fed hike to control inflation.
• US President Trump said on Friday that they are taking action to help cattle ranchers and signed an order that allows ranchers to process their own beef, while small, medium, and large ranchers can sell to consumers, and he also stated that meatpackers have been charging unsustainable prices.
• There were multiple casualties after an Amazon (AMZN) cargo plane overran the runway and struck vehicles whilst landing at Miami International Airport, while the Miami-Dade County Sheriff announced that at least five people have been confirmed dead.

DATA RECAP

• US Non-Farm Payrolls (Aug) 162K vs. Exp. 56K (Prev. 21K); 2-month net revision +55k.
• US Unemployment Rate (Aug) 4.1% vs. Exp. 4.1% (Prev. 4.1%)
• US Average Hourly Earnings (Aug MM) 0.3% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. 0.2%)
• US Average Hourly Earnings (Aug YY) 3.1% vs. Exp. 3% (Prev. 3.2%)

COMMODITIES

• Major OPEC+ countries stuck with the plan to keep their oil production quotas unchanged for October.
• Iraq raised oil export capacity to over 3mln bpd, according to state media.
• US Energy Secretary Wright said the Trump administration is focused on boosting crude and fuel supplies rather than curbing US exports, as a way to reduce prices. Wright also said that US Navy escorts that are assisting tankers across the Strait of Hormuz are vital in sustaining crude flows and suggested they will continue to do so until Iran backs down.
• Russia’s Vostok Oil project loaded its first crude for shipment via the Northern Sea route.
• Iran is to increase gasoline prices for heavy consumers using more than 110 litres per month, effective on Tuesday.

GEOPOLITICAL

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• Ukrainian President Zelensky sees no quick end to the war with Russia following a meeting with US envoys Witkoff and Kushner, and is seeking a package from allies that would cover defence reinforcements, as well as energy, including US LNG.
• Russian President Putin ordered troops not to fire on Kyiv for three days during US envoys Witkoff and Kushner's visit to Ukraine’s capital, according to Kremlin spokesman Peskov. However, it was separately reported that Russia and Ukraine exchanged a fresh wave of strikes prior to the US envoys’ visit to Kyiv.
• Russian Kremlin aide said talks between Russia and the US were highly useful and lasted for over three hours, but gave no indication of a breakthrough.
• White House official said US and Russian officials discussed substantive plans for the next steps in talks aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, which will be announced in the coming weeks.
• France’s far-right National Rally chief Bardella wants Ukraine to pay for Europe’s help and said France’s unconditional support for Ukraine should be replaced by a more transactional relationship.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• US President Trump said on Friday that he will be hosting a state dinner for Chinese President Xi when he comes and that China has very little involvement with Iran.
• China’s Finance Ministry will inject CNY 57bln into three state-owned insurers including China Life Insurance, China Taiping Insurance and People’s Insurance Company of China.
• ICBC plans to raise CNY 100bln to bolster its capital, while Agricultural Bank of China plans to raise CNY 160bln through a private placement of A shares.
• Hon Hai (2317 TT) monthly sales rose 52% to TWD 921.8bln amid demand for servers to build data centres and AI computational capacity.

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• UK Chancellor Healey said Britain’s economic growth must extend beyond the largest cities as he prepares to outline his economic agenda in a major speech on Monday.
• Hundreds of masked anti-immigration protesters blocked roads leading to Britain’s busiest ferry port in Dover on Saturday.
• German Chancellor Merz warned about further losses of industrial jobs and said that they are losing industrial jobs on a large scale, although he welcomed the latest agreement on Volkswagen’s supervisory board.
• Germany’s far-right AfD is set to win the election in eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt with 44.5% of the vote.
• German police discovered 12 explosive devices near overhead powerlines in two districts in east Germany, which is the latest spate of incidents targeting Germany’s electricity infrastructure.
• Greek PM Mitsotakis unveiled a package of economic measures including tax breaks and wage increases for pensioners and employees, with the measures costing EUR 3.5bln by 2030.
• Fitch raised Portugal's sovereign rating from A to A+; Outlook Stable.