Cautious risk tone as NFP looms - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

US stocks closed mixed in overall contained trade. The risk tone throughout the session was cautious.
The Dollar initially clawed back a notable amount of Monday’s losses early in the session as it looked to reverse some of the weakness.
T-Notes caught a bid after a soft JOLTS report which hit the lowest level since February 2021.
Crude prices continued their slump with markets still digesting the OPEC+ policy decision, while growth concerns are mounting after the weak ISM Manufacturing PMI on Monday was followed by a cooling in job openings today.
Looking ahead, highlights include New Zealand Terms of Trade, Australian AIG Index, South Korean GDP Revised, Australian, Japanese and Chinese Final Services and Composite PMIs, Australian Real GDP, Speeches from RBA's Bullock and Kent.

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5th June 2024

SNAPSHOT

US stocks closed mixed in overall contained trade. The risk tone throughout the session was cautious. Cash equities opened with a soft bias, and after some fleeting choppiness after the JOLTs jobs data, resumed to the downside as growth concerns continue to weigh in traders' minds.
SPX +0.15% at 5,291, NDX +0.29% at 18,655, DJIA +0.36% at 38,711, RUT -1.25% at 2,034
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NOTABLE HEADLINES

Treasury Secretary Yellen said the Treasury never tries to time the market in debt management. She added the issuance of Treasury Bills is in line with historical averages. Market participants believe that short-term rates will come down. She said short-term bill issuance is in line with recommendations from the TBAC. Yellen says there is nothing about issuing short-term debt that creates a 'sugar high' for the economy, according to Reuters.
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Musk said his current best guess for Nvidia (NVDA) purchases by Tesla is USD 3-4bln this year, via a post on X.
Tesla (TSLA) sold 72.5k vehicles in China during May vs. 62.2k in April, according to the CPCA.
Tesla (TSLA) investor KLP is to vote in support of the motion urging Tesla to engage in wage and other labour talks.
TSMC (2330 TT/TSM) new Chairman has hinted that the Co. could increase the price of his company's AI chip production services, according to The Nikkei; he has already spoken with the Nvidia (NVDA) CEO about this.

DATA RECAP

US JOLTS Job Openings (Apr) 8.059M vs. Exp. 8.355M (Prev. 8.488M, Rev. 8.355M)
US Factory Orders MM (Apr) 0.7% vs. Exp. 0.6% (Prev. 1.6%, Rev. 0.7%)
US Factory Ex-Transp MM (Apr) 0.7% (Prev. 0.5%, Rev. 0.4%)
US Durable Goods, R MM (Apr) 0.6% (Prev. 0.7%)
US Durables Ex-Transpt R MM (Apr) 0.4% (Prev. 0.4%)
US Redbook YY w/e 5.8% (Prev. 6.3%)
US Nondef Cap Ex-Air R MM (Apr) 0.2% (Prev. 0.3%)

The Dollar initially clawed back a notable amount of Monday’s losses early in the session as it looked to reverse some of the weakness over the last three trading days.
The Euro was weaker in the Tuesday session with downside stemming from the European morning after a rise in German unemployment numbers to see EUR/USD hit a low of 1.0860.
Cyclical Currencies all trade weaker vs the Dollar, but similar to the Euro, were off lows in the wake of the soft US JOLTS data which tempered the Dollar.
Haven Currencies (Franc, Yen) outperform among their G10 FX peers for the second consecutive day in a row as US yields continue to fall (US 10-year yield fell from 4.39% to 4.33%) in the wake of the softer JOLTs data.

T-Notes caught a bid after a soft JOLTS report which hit the lowest level since February 2021.

Crude prices continued their slump with markets still digesting the OPEC+ policy decision, while growth concerns are mounting after the weak ISM Manufacturing PMI on Monday was followed by a cooling in job openings today.
A group of US representatives ask the DoJ to probe potential antitrust conspiracies among US oil producer, OPEC and OPEC+, according to a statement.

US State Department said Israel is ready to implement a ceasefire deal, according to Bloomberg.
Israeli military chief of staff says Israel is prepared to shift offence along the Northern border with Lebanon, nearing a decision point.
Hamas said it cannot agree to an agreement that does not secure a final ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal, according to Al Jazeera.
"A Hamas official told Al-Mayadeen that no delegation from the group went to Cairo and that it did not accept what was offered by the mediators", via Guy Elster on X.
Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson says they are still waiting for a clear Israeli position in response to the US' Gaza proposal.
Israel's Netanyahu coalition partner Shas says it would support a Gaza hostage-release deal.
Lebanon's Deputy Head of Hezbollah says in remarks that they decided not to widen the war, but will fight if it is imposed on them.
Hamas Senior Official says "We frown upon the US and West's calls for us to accept US President Biden's Gaza proposal as if it is Hamas who is hampering the deal; Israel is not serious about reaching a deal in Gaza".
US President Biden says he would not rule out using US military force when questioned on the possibility of deploying US troops to Taiwan in the scenario of an invasion, via Time Magazine

BoJ is said to mull reducing bond buys as early as the June meeting, via Bloomberg.
The ECB is to soon guide several German banks to increase reserves to protect against property loan defaults, according to Bloomberg; the move would be negative for profits.
Turkey's Constitutional Court has annulled the president's order to sack the CBRT governors before the end of the term, according to a publication from Gazette.
The CBRT Governor says it is determined to keep a tight policy stance until inflation falls in line with targets; will not permit a permanent deterioration in the outlook for inflation.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

DATA

German Unemployment Chg SA (May) 25.0k vs. Exp. 10.0k (Prev. 10.0k); Unemployment Rate SA (May) 5.9% vs. Exp. 5.9% (Prev. 5.9%); Unemployment Total SA (May) 2.762M (Prev. 2.732M); Unemployment Total NSA (May) 2.723M (Prev. 2.75M)
Swiss CPI YY (May) 1.4% vs. Exp. 1.4% (Prev. 1.4%); CPI MM (May) 0.3% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. 0.3%)