Breakfast Bites - Tue Apr 11, 2023

Rise and shine everyone

Markets ended on a bullish note yesterday and we’re seeing that holding this morning on the S&P Futures. The Nasdaq looks a little weak, while the Russel is displaying some strength. Gold and USD Index remain flat, with oil showing some weakness. Bitcoin’s positive crossing over to $30,135.

Carmax and Albertsons reports today.

Asia and Australia

• Asian equities ended mostly higher Tuesday as the positive sentiment of recent weeks continued. Japan gapped higher at the open and ended with gains for the second straight day. Mainland China flat; Hong Kong higher.

• Taiwan's exports fell for seventh consecutive month in March as global demand for electronics remained weak.

• Bank of Korea kept seven-day repo rate on hold at 3.5% for second successive meeting Tuesday as widely expected

• China’s Headline CPI rose 0.7% y/y compared to consensus and prior month's 1.0%, remaining at one-year lows. Core inflation edged back up to 0.7% from 0.6%. Food prices remained a drag, driven by sharp declines in fresh food

• LNG developer Tellurian (TELL) seeks Japan, India investments in U.S. project

Europe, Middle East, Africa

• European equity markets firmer following long Easter weekend. Basic resources, autos/parts and retail outperform; food/beverage and healthcare lags.

• Eurozone retail sales weaken. Volume of retail trade decreased by 1.8% for automotive fuels, by 0.7% for non-food products and by 0.6% for food, drinks and tobacco.

• UK Spending Data from Barclaycard: Card spending grew only 4% compared with a year earlier, less than half the 9.2% inflation rate. More than half of the people are cutting back on luxury purchases and one-off treats, while six-in-10 are scaling back on restaurants and new clothes

The Americas

• The Federal Home Loan Bank system issued $37 billion in debt in the last week of March, a sharp drop-off from the $304 billion two weeks earlier - suggests signs of bank stress easing.

• CFTC data show biggest net short S&P 500 futures position since Nov-11

• Options market reflects pessimism around banks, though some making contrarian bets

• Boeing targeting January 2025 to restore production of 737 MAX jet to 2019 rate of 52 per month

• Warren Buffett intends to boost holdings of Japanese equities - Current holdings include Itochu; Mitsubishi; Mitsui; Sumitomo and Marubeni.

• Newmont raises takeover bid for Australian rival Newcrest to $19.5B

Calendars

(news taken from Reuters, FT, Bloomberg; Calendar from Trading Economics)