Weekend News Round Up - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

• US stocks finished higher on Friday after having reversed an initial hawkish reaction to the hot NFP report, although the gains across the major indices were limited as participants prepare for the upcoming week's risk events including US CPI and FOMC meeting.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu said Israel will continue the war to eliminate Hamas and achieve its objectives, while he added that countries cannot both support Israel’s elimination of Hamas whilst pressing it to end the Gaza war prematurely, according to Reuters.
• Chinese CPI and PPI printed softer than expected for November with CPI YY at -0.5% vs. Exp. -0.1% (Prev. -0.2%).
• Looking ahead, highlights include Japanese BSI Large Manufacturing Survey Index & Machine Tool Orders, Malaysian Industrial Production.

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LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include Japanese BSI Large Manufacturing Survey Index & Machine Tool Orders, Malaysian Industrial Production.
• Click here for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

US TRADE

• US stocks finished higher on Friday after having reversed an initial hawkish reaction to the hot NFP report, although the gains across the major indices were limited as participants prepare for the upcoming week's risk events including US CPI and FOMC meeting.
• SPX +0.41% at 4,604, NDX +0.39% at 16,085, DJI +0.36% at 36,248, RUT +0.67% at 1,881.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• US Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said Republican border security demands are currently unreasonable, according to an NBC News interview.

COMMODITIES

• OPEC Secretary General Al-Ghais said at COP28 that they need an all energies and all technologies approach, while he added that realistic approaches are needed to tackle emissions, according to Reuters.
• China’s top climate envoy said that COP28 has already made a lot of progress including on loss and damage and funding questions, while the first draft outcome document has 27 pages and 206 unresolved issues, according to Reuters

GEOPOLITICS

ISRAEL/HAMAS/MIDDLE EAST

• Israeli PM Netanyahu said Israel will continue the war to eliminate Hamas and achieve its objectives, while he added that countries cannot both support Israel’s elimination of Hamas whilst pressing it to end the Gaza war prematurely, according to Reuters.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu spoke with Russian President Putin on Sunday and voiced disapproval of Russian statements against Israel at the UN and Russia’s dangerous cooperation with Iran, while he also told Putin that any country would have responded as Israel has to the Hamas attack, according to Reuters.
• Hezbollah lawmaker Fadallah said Israeli air strikes in south Lebanon mark a new escalation and Israeli escalation will not deter Hezbollah from continuing to defend Lebanon and supporting Gaza. Furthermore, Hezbollah is said to be responding to Israeli escalation with new types of attacks whether in the nature of weapons or targeted sites, according to Reuters.
• US Secretary of State Blinken said it is imperative that Israeli military operations protect Palestinian civilians and that durable, sustainable peace must follow the military operations. Furthermore, Blinken said durable peace must lead to a Palestinian state, according to CNN.
• Qatar’s PM said Qatar will continue to pressure Israel and Hamas to continue a truce despite narrowing chances, while he added that the entire generation in the Middle East is at risk of being radicalised because of the Gaza war.
• Yemen’s Houthi military spokesman said they warn all shipping companies against cooperating with Israel and said if Gaza does not receive the food and medicine it needs, all ships in the Red Sea bound for Israel ports will become a target for their armed forces regardless of their nationality, according to Reuters.
• Jordan’s Foreign Minister said Israel is implementing a systematic policy to push Gazans out of the enclave beyond eliminating Hamas, while an Israeli government spokesperson called Jordan’s allegation that Israel wants to expel Gazans ’outrageous and false’.
• UN General Assembly is likely to vote on Tuesday on demanding for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, according to diplomats cited by Reuters.
• Iraqi Kataeb Hezbollah militia said jihad operations against US forces will continue until the last US soldiers exit Iraq, while the Iran-aligned group added that an attack on US interests on Friday was just the beginning of a new engagement although they didn’t claim responsibility for the attack.
• Syria’s air defence intercepted Israeli rockets fired on Damascus surroundings, according to state media.
• A Swede jailed in Iran faces charges of acts against national security and spying for Israel, while the Swede also faces the charge of corruption on earth which can carry the death penalty, according to ISNA news agency.

OTHER

• US President Biden invited Ukrainian President Zelensky to the White House for a meeting on Tuesday and Zelensky was also invited to address US Senators on Tuesday at 14:00GMT/09:00EST, while Zelensky’s office said he will concentrate on defence cooperation and unity in his US visit, according to Reuters.
• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said the West’s 500-year domination of the world is coming to an and that the West has ignored everything that happened in Ukraine before February 2022, while he added that Russia has become stronger due to the conflict in Ukraine.
• China’s Coast Guard said Japanese ships intruded into the territorial waters of the Senkaku Islands on December 9th. It was separately reported that the Philippines Coast Guard said supply vessels were water cannoned and rammed by Chinese Coast Guard vessels in the South China Sea, according to Reuters.
• White House National Security Adviser Sullivan travelled to South Korea to meet with Japanese and South Korean counterparts and had an extended discussion on deepening ties between Russia and North Korea, while the US has confidence shared by Japan and South Korea that North Korea is supplying weapons to Russia being used in the battlefield in Ukraine. Sullivan also commented that North Korea is irresponsible to walk away from the inter-Korean agreement and that the US and South Korea are preparing for all scenarios. Furthermore, it was reported that the US, Japan and South Korea reached an agreement on expanding their security partnership, according to Reuters.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• China’s Industry Minister met with the Saudi Investment Minister and said that China is willing to cooperate with Saudi Arabia on new energy vehicles, aviation, photovoltaics and AI, according to Reuters.
• Japanese PM Kishida plans to replace Industry Minister Nishimura, Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno and ruling party policy chief Haguida, according to Reuters.
• Australian PM Albanese said the government has a plan to slow Australian immigration and they need to bring immigration back to sustainable levels, according to Reuters.

DATA RECAP

• Chinese CPI MM (Nov) -0.5% vs. Exp. -0.1% (Prev. -0.1%)
• Chinese CPI YY (Nov) -0.5% vs. Exp. -0.1% (Prev. -0.2%)
• Chinese PPI YY (Nov) -3.0% vs. Exp. -2.8% (Prev. -2.6%)

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• A split within the UK government regarding migration policy widened as PM Sunak braces for a crucial week ahead which includes a vote on the Rwanda bill and a grilling in the UK Covid inquiry, according to FT.