Weekend News Round Up - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

• US stocks were mixed on Friday in which most indices finished with mild gains but with price action choppy amid headwinds from a plunge in University of Michigan sentiment and a rise in inflation expectations, while treasuries sold off with the complex pressured pre-market after the latest UK GDP data exceeded expectations.
• Chinese CPI and PPI data released over the weekend were mixed, while Aggregate Financing and New Yuan Loans missed estimates.
• Looking ahead, highlights include New Zealand Performance of Services Index, Food Price Index & Inflation Expectations, Japanese Money Supply, Australia NAB Business Confidence and Conditions.

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LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include New Zealand Performance of Services Index, Food Price Index & Inflation Expectations, Japanese Money Supply, Australia NAB Business Confidence and Conditions.
• Click here for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

US TRADE

• US stocks were mixed on Friday in which most indices finished with mild gains but with price action choppy amid headwinds from a plunge in University of Michigan sentiment and a rise in inflation expectations, while treasuries sold off with the complex pressured pre-market after the latest UK GDP data exceeded expectations.
• S&P 500 +0.2%, Nasdaq 100 +0.3%, Dow Jones +0.3%, Russell 2000 -0.6%.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Fed's Bowman (voter) said on Friday that if the Fed forecasts unexpected shocks, that would be a case for rate cuts, but she does not see rate cuts warranted this year. Bowman said it will probably be a number of meetings before she is ready to endorse cuts and wants to see a number of months of better inflation data, according to Bloomberg.
• Fed's Goolsbee (non-voter) said on Friday that the 2% inflation target acts as an anchor on expectations and short-run expectations are not what matters, while Goolsbee reiterated data dependence and said given the uptick in inflation, the Fed has to wait and see on policy, according to Reuters.
• Fed's Kashkari (non-voter) said on Friday that the bar is high for another rate hike, but it cannot be ruled out, while he is cautious about how restrictive monetary policy is and is in wait-and-see mode regarding the future of monetary policy, according to CNBC.
• Apple (AAPL) reportedly closes in on a deal with OpenAI to put ChatGPT on the iPhone, according to Bloomberg. It was also reported that an Apple store in New Jersey voted against unionising, while an Apple store in Maryland voted to hold a strike with the date to be determined.

COMMODITIES

• Iraqi Oil Minister said on Saturday that Iraq has made enough voluntary production cuts and will not agree to any future reduction taken by OPEC. However, it was reported on Sunday that the Oil Minister said the voluntary oil output cut is subject to agreement between OPEC countries and any negotiable proposals may be presented at the time, while he added they are part of OPEC and it is necessary to comply with any decisions made by the organisation. The state news agency also reported the Oil Minister said Iraq is committed to voluntary output cuts made by OPEC members and is keen on cooperating with members to achieve more stability in global oil markets.
• Iraqi Oil Ministry launched 29 oil and gas projects within the fifth and sixth licensing rounds. Iraq’s Kar Group won a bid to develop the Dima oil field in Iraq’s Maysan province, while China’s CNOOC won a bid to develop Block 7 for oil exploration in Iraq’s Diwaniya province and Sinopec won a bid to develop the Sumer oilfield in Iraq’s Muthanna province. Furthermore, the Oil Ministry signed a head of agreement with an Iraqi-Chinese JV to develop the Tuba oil field with a capacity of 200k bpd.
• Qatar set June marine crude OSP at Oman/Dubai plus USD 1.75/bbl and land crude OSP was set at Oman/Dubai plus USD 0.85/bbl, according to a pricing document.
• QatarEnergy is to acquire two new exploration blocks offshore Egypt in which it signed a farm-in agreement with ExxonMobil (XOM) to acquire a 40% participating interest in the exploration blocks.
• Russian Deputy PM Novak said Russia will be able to increase fuel output in the future, according to TASS.

GEOPOLITICAL

MIDDLE EAST

• Israel’s IDF said it ordered residents of additional east Rafah areas to evacuate and head to the humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi, according to Reuters.
• Israeli military spokesperson said Hamas has been trying to re-establish military capabilities in Gaza’s Jabalia and Israel is trying to prevent that, while it announced that Israeli forces in Gaza’s Zeitun killed 30 Palestinian militants. It was separately reported that Israel's military opened a new crossing into the Gaza Strip in coordination with the US government for humanitarian aid, according to Reuters.

OTHER

• Ukrainian President Zelensky said battles are ongoing at seven border villages in Kharkiv and the Donetsk situation is particularly tense, while Ukraine’s military chief said fighting is ongoing and warned of a difficult situation in the Kharkiv region, according to Reuters.
• Ukrainian shelling killed at least 9 people and injured more than a dozen in an apartment block collapse in Russia’s Belgorod, according to Reuters.
• Russian President Putin conducted a surprise reshuffle of top security officials whereby he removed Patrushev as head of the Security Council who will be moved to a new job and proposed that Defence Minister Shoigu become the new head of the Security Council, while he proposed economic adviser Belousov to become the new Defence Minister, according to FT.
• Russian Defence Ministry said its forces have taken five settlements in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• PBoC injected CNY 2bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate kept at 1.80% on Saturday.
• Chinese authorities have kicked off plans to sell USD 140bln of long-dated bonds, according to FT.
• Country Garden (2007 HK) said it repaid onshore coupons within the grace period, according to Reuters.
• Australia’s government cut its 2024/2025 real GDP growth forecast to 2% from 2.25% and cut its 2025/2026 growth forecast to 2.25% from 2.50%, while it said inflation could slow to the RBA’s 2%-3% target range by year-end which is sooner than previously expected, according to Reuters.

DATA RECAP

• Chinese CPI MM (Apr) 0.1% vs. Exp. -0.1% (Prev. -1.0%)
• Chinese CPI YY (Apr) 0.3% vs. Exp. 0.2% (Prev. 0.1%)
• Chinese PPI YY (Apr) -2.5% vs. Exp. -2.3% (Prev. -2.8%)
• Chinese New Yuan Loans (CNY)(Apr) 730B vs Exp. 800B (Prev. 3090B)
• Chinese Aggregate Financing (CNY)(Apr) -200B vs Exp. 1000B (Prev. 4870B)
• Chinese Money Supply M2 YY (Apr) 7.2% vs Exp. 8.3% (Prev. 8.3%)

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Socialists were ahead in the Catalan regional election with 41 seats out of the 135-seat chamber and separatists Junts were second with 36 seats after 91% of votes were counted, according to Reuters.
• S&P affirmed Poland at A-; Outlook Stable.