Asian Macro Initial Thoughts: Data light day, US markets closed lower ahead of long weekend, expect light volumes

NZX sold down on the open; testing 13,064 then traded sideways. ASX open higher in line with futures

Asia
US markets saw a weak close but the data dump was broadly in line with expectations. Trump’s tariff policy continues to overhang markets with investors uncertain about whether they are a negotiating tool or a day one policy.

China in particular looks vulnerable and investors are watching to see if Beijing announces any policy changes in response, I expect that they will take a wait and see stance. But it does mean that other policy actions to stabilise the market are probable also now on the back burner.

Housekeeping
This afternoon I will be on RTHK’s 'The close’; with host Nitin Dialis; if you have a question or just want listen to the programme you can hear it here:

https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio3/programme/the_close

On Monday morning I was on RTHK’s Money Talk; with host Andrew Work and James W a member of the Asean CEO community. If you want to you can listen to the show here: https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio3/programme/money_talk

For leading independent research, check out http://ERI-C.com it is a great platform where independent research vendors list their research and trading analysis. ERI-C is free to access, you can browse different independent research providers, most offer free trials; so take a look.

Mark Tinker posted the Latest thoughts from Market Thinker - Not De-Dollarise, but Re-Dollarise? Is China planning to 'own' the Petro$ and by extension the Euro$ Market?

MARKET INDICATIONS

New Zealand
Market sold down on the open; testing 13,064 in early trades
Data due after the open
Business Confidence Nov vs 65.7 Oct (F/cast is 66)

Australia
Market opened higher up 16pts in staggered open, after futures indicate +18pts 0.2% at 8,456; energy weak but miners +VE.
Data due after the open
Building Capital Expenditure Q3 QoQ vs -3.8% Q2 (F/cast is 0.8%)
Plant Machinery Capital Expenditure Q3 QoQ vs -0.5% Q2 (F/cast is 0.4%)
Private Capital Expenditure Q3 QoQ vs -2.2% Q2 (F/cast is 0.9%)
After market RBA Bullock Speaks,

Japan
Futures indicate a lower open; -325pts -0.9% at 37,810 and Chicago Futures up 15pts 0.04% at 37,840
Yen closed at 151.18 in US and opened at 150.97
Data due pre market
Foreign
Bond Investment vs ¥-966.9B prior
Stock Investment vs ¥127.6B prior

S Korea
Market to open lower with light volumes. Heavy early snow may impact travel, further impacting light trading. Wednesday stocks closed lower with weakness in semiconductor shares amid concerns that the incoming US administration may scrap subsidies for chipmakers. The local currency rose against the US dollar. BoK comments after its rate decision in focus.
Data out after the open
Interest Rate Decision 3.25% no change expected.

Taiwan
Expect market to open lower Tech under pressure
No Data due

China
Market to open higher after the Golden Dragon China Index closed up 182 pts, 2.82% at 6,658
No Data Due

Hong Kong
Expect a lower open after ADR’s closed -51pts -0.27% at 19,108
ADR’s were mainly lower, only HSBC, CLP, SHKP and BoC HK in the green.
Futures -19pts -0.1% at 19,584
No Data Due

Macau - No Data Due
Singapore - No Data Due
Indonesia - No Data Due
Philippines - No Data Due
Thailand - No Data Due
Malaysia - No Data Due
Cambodia - No Events scheduled this week
Vietnam - No Events scheduled this week

India - No Data Due
After market Wednesday
M3 Money Supply Nov/15 10.4% vs 11.2% prior

Europe - Data Due
Eurozone ECB’s General Council Meeting, Loans to Companies, Loans to Households, M3 Money Supply, Economic Sentiment, Consumer Confidence Final, Consumer Inflation Expectations, Industrial & Services Sentiment, Selling Price Expectations.
Germany CPI
France No data due
United Kingdom Pre Market Car Production Oct YoY vs -20.6% Sept (F/cast is -9%)
United States - Market closed
Futures S&P 0.05%, NDX 0.05%

HEADLINES & NEWS

JAPAN
The Bank of Japan suffered record valuation losses on its government bond holdings in the first half of the fiscal year as its interest rate hikes pushed up bond yields, the bank's earnings report showed on Wednesday. Central banks typically see the value of their bond holdings fall when they raise interest rates, as such moves weigh on bond prices which move inversely to yields. The central bank's bond holdings incurred valuation losses of 13.66 trillion yen ($90.03 billion) in the six months to September, bigger than the 9.43 trillion yen loss registered in March, the earnings report showed.

Russia said on Wednesday that if the United States stationed missiles in Japan, this would threaten Russian security and prompt Moscow to retaliate. Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday that Japan and the U.S. aim to compile a joint military plan for a possible Taiwan emergency that includes deploying missiles. It cited unnamed U.S. and Japanese sources as saying that under the plan, the U.S. would deploy missile units to the Nansei Islands of Japan's southwestern Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, and to the Philippines.

PM Ishiba has sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking him to approve Nippon Steel's acquisition of U.S. Steel, to avoid marring recent efforts to strengthen ties between the countries, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Biden joined a powerful U.S. labour union in opposing the $15 billion takeover of the storied American firm by Japan's top steelmaker and referred it to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a secretive government panel that reviews foreign investments for national security risks.

JERA sees no impact from new U.S. sanctions on Gazprombank on its procurement of liquefied natural gas from Russia's Sakhalin-2 project, as it does not use the lender for payment settlements, its president said. The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank last week as part of a wider push to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, barring it from any new energy-related transactions that touch the U.S. financial system, among other restrictions.

ChatGPT-owner OpenAI is allowing its employees to sell roughly $1.5 billion worth of shares in a new tender offer to Japan's SoftBank Group (9984.T) two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. SoftBank's billionaire CEO Masayoshi Son has been persistent in seeking a larger stake in the startup after investing in the last funding round, according to CNBC, which first reported the news.

SOUTH KOREA
Heavy snow warnings were issued across the country as South Korea -- especially the Greater Seoul area and Gangwon Province -- experienced heavy snowfall nationwide, with more expected overnight. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, more than 20 centimeters of snow covered parts of Seoul as of 7 a.m., Wednesday morning. Normally, a warning is issued by the KMA when snowfall is expected to reach above 20 cm within 24 hours. The last time a snowfall warning was issued by the KMA was Jan. 4, 2010, according to the KMA’s records.

South Korea plans to bolster its fiscal support for domestic chipmakers next year, shoring up an industry that might face unfavorable policies from the incoming administration of US president-elect Donald Trump and more intense challenges from Chinese rivals. Financial support made up of loans, insurances and guarantees from state-affiliated organizations is set to amount to 14.3 trillion won (US$10.3 billion) next year in an elevation of continued policy stimulus, the South Korean Ministry of Economy and Finance said yesterday. Separately, the government plans to cover “a significant share” of the 1.8 trillion won needed to bury power cables in chipmaking clusters south of Seoul, it said in a statement.

SK hynix on Wednesday announced plans to increase dividend payouts by 25 percent per share by 2027 as part of a broader strategy to boost corporate value amid the chipmaker's rapid growth in the artificial intelligence chip market. As part of its new shareholder return program, the company will raise annual dividends to 1,500 won ($1.08) per share over the next three years, up from the current 1,200 won. This will result in a total annual dividend payout of approximately 1 trillion won, SK hynix said. SK hynix said the value-up program represents an increase in corporate value in recent successful years.

Samsung Electronics announced a management reshuffle on Wednesday, replacing the top brass at its sluggish chipmaking business division. While retaining the company's three vice chairs for management stability, the company replaced the foundry business chief and created two new positions to enhance operational efficiency. "The company sought to overcome uncertain internal and external business challenges and aim for a new breakthrough via the personnel shakeup," the company said in Wednesday's announcement. Vice Chairman Jun Young-hyun, who was appointed as the head of the company's chip division in May, has been entrusted with more roles, being named the chief executive officer and the head of the memory chip business. He has also been appointed head of Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology. Under Jun's tighter control, the company is expected to make a big push in the burgeoning high bandwidth memory chip area, where it has lost the earlier edge to its smaller rival, SK hynix.

As insurance companies grapple with finding new growth drivers, Hanwha Life has shifted its focus overseas, exploring new markets and sectors while expanding partnerships. A key milestone has been reached in Vietnam, where Hanwha Life’s local subsidiary achieved its first cumulative profit since entering the market in 2008. This marks the first such accomplishment among fully owned overseas subsidiaries of a Korean insurer. Building on this momentum, Hanwha Life aims to become the fifth-largest insurer in Vietnam and reach an annual profit of 100 billion won ($71.52 million) by 2030. To do this, the company is concentrating on developing products that cater to the unique needs of Vietnamese consumers, especially in the rapidly growing digital finance sector. Vietnam, a nation with 30 percent of its population under the age of 30, also boasts a mobile phone penetration rate of 149 percent.

TAIWAN
China is likely to launch military drills in the coming days near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s upcoming trip to the Pacific and scheduled US transit as a pretext, regional security officials said. Lai is to begin a visit to Taipei’s three diplomatic allies in the Pacific on Saturday, and sources told Reuters he was planning stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam in a sensitive trip shortly after the US presidential election. Lai’s office has yet to confirm details of what are officially “stop-overs” in the US, but is expected to do so shortly before he departs, sources familiar with the trip said.

The government’s business climate monitor last month returned a second “yellow-red” signal, indicating that the nation’s export-oriented economy remained healthy, but is likely shifting gears, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. The monitor lost two points to 32, the brink of the “yellow-red” territory, dragged by industrial production weakness attributable to lackluster sales of metal products and poor demand for petrochemical products, the council said. The council measures economic health using a five-color system, with blue signaling a recession, green suggesting steady growth and red indicating a boom. Dual colors of yellow-red and yellow-blue mean that the economy is changing gears to a better or worse state. “We remain guardedly optimistic about the economy and will closely monitor any disrupting signs,” NDC Economic Department Director Chiu Chiu-ying said, adding that the disappointing industrial output also had to do with two typhoons that disrupted shipments. Local electronics suppliers continued to benefit from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, while non-tech firms remained hit by a global slowdown induced by monetary tightening in the US and Europe, the official said. The index of leading indicators, which seeks to foretell the economic scene in the next six months, declined 0.47 percent to 101.84, the council said.

Kaimei Electronic Corp a supplier of passive components, yesterday said it has allocated a majority of its chip resistor manufacturing capacity to a Malaysian factory from China to brace for potential tariff hikes on Chinese goods from the US. The company’s remarks came amid investors’ growing concern about escalating trade frictions between China and the US, and how the US’ new trade policies would play out after US president-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Trump has threatened to levy 10 percent more on Chinese imports. “We have deployed a full production line this year in Malaysia to produce chip resistors. We are evaluating the possibility of using the facility to produce other products to cope with customers’ manufacturing relocations,” Kaimei spokesman Andrew Lee told a virtual investors’ conference yesterday. The new Malaysian factory produces 80 percent of Kaimei’s chip resistors, a surge from 40 percent in the past, Lee said. Its Chinese factory in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, used to be the company’s manufacturing hub, making up 60 percent of its total chip resistors. Now, the Chinese factory makes up a mere 20 percent of its total production of chip resistors, he said. Kaimei is 7.34 percent owned by Yageo Corp the world’s third-largest passive component supplier.

Foxconn Technology Group yesterday said it expects any impact of new tariffs from US president-elect Donald Trump to hit the company less than its rivals, citing its global manufacturing footprint. Young Liu , chairman of the contract manufacturer and key Apple Inc supplier, told reporters after a forum in Taipei that it saw the primary impact of any fresh tariffs falling on its clients because its business model is based on contract manufacturing. “Clients may decide to shift production locations, but looking at Foxconn’s global footprint, we are ahead. As a result, the impact on us is likely smaller compared to our competitors,” he said. It has been increasing its investments in other countries, such as the US, Mexico and Vietnam, as part of a supply chain diversification effort. In Mexico, it is building a large manufacturing facility to produce Nvidia Corp’s GB200 superchips. Liu said Foxconn would only be able to share more details about the company’s US plans after Jan. 20, once Trump takes office and his policies become clearer.

CHINA
Volkswagen and its Chinese partner agreed to sell their test sites in Turpan, Xinjiang and Anting, Shanghai to Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Certification (SMVIC), a subsidiary of Shanghai Lingang Development Group, Reuters reported. Upon completion of the sale, Volkswagen will no longer have a presence in Xinjiang. In addition, VW will extend its partnership with SAIC Group for another 10 years to 2040, with SAIC VOLKSWAGEN aiming to release 18 new vehicles by 2030, including two extended-range models by 2026. VW is separately developing new vehicles with partners like XPENG-W (09868.HK) and aims to launch 30 new electric or hybrid models by 2030.

In October 2024, the shipment volume of mobile phones in the China market amounted to 29.674 million, up 1.8% YoY, according to the latest report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). Of which, 26.722 million units were 5G mobile phones, up 1.1% YoY, accounting for 90.1% of mobile phone shipments in the same period. In 10M24, the shipment volume of mobile phones in the China market reached 250 million, surging 8.9% YoY. Of which, 214 million units were 5G mobile phones, leaping 13.6% YoY, accounting for 85.5% of mobile phone shipments in the same period. Global smartphone sales have rebounded robustly year to date, ending two consecutive years of downswing, with shipments up 6.2% to about 1.24 billion units, while Apple (AAPL.US)'s iPhone shipments edged up only 0.4%, according to IDC's report. However, the ASP of an iPhone is over US$1,000, whereas that of an Android phone is about US$295.

China's industrial profits fell again in October but less sharply than the previous month as deflation pressures dragged while demand remained soft in the crisis-hit $19 trillion economy. Fresh headwinds from additional U.S. tariffs could also threaten China's industrial sector next year, reducing export earnings. The sprawling sector, which includes mining, processing and manufacturing companies, has struggled to stay profitable in the face of feeble domestic demand hit by a years-long property crisis, unemployment and rising trade tensions.

China's state media warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump his pledge to slap additional tariffs on Chinese goods over fentanyl flows could drag the world's top two economies into a mutually destructive tariff war. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, said on Monday he would impose "an additional 10% tariff, above any additional tariffs" on imports from China until Beijing clamped down on trafficking of the chemical precursors used to make the deadly drug. The two superpowers are setting out their positions ahead of the former president's return to the White House. Trump's first term resulted in a trade war that uprooted global supply chains and hurt every economy as inflation and borrowing costs shot up.

China Defence Minister Dong Jun has been placed under investigation as part of a wide-ranging anti-corruption probe that has roiled the top ranks of the People's Liberation Army, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Dong is the third consecutive serving or former Chinese defence minister to be investigated for alleged corruption, the FT reported, citing current and former U.S. officials. When asked about the FT report at a daily press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said it was "chasing shadows".

Hundreds of Chinese investors who lost savings in the collapse of China Evergrande launched a coordinated campaign this month to press authorities for an update on the failed property developer, according to people with knowledge of the effort. In the previously unreported action, small groups of disgruntled investors turned up at three Shenzhen government offices in succession to ask for an update on an investigation launched more than a year ago, the people told Reuters. They said they hoped this method of applying pressure on officials would not be deemed as a form of unlawful public protest.

While the grassroots action is unlikely to shape the court-ordered liquidation of Evergrande, which failed with more than $300 billion in liabilities, it shows how deep-seated frustration remains for the middle-class Chinese who saw their investments wiped out.

The cautious protests also come at a time when China’s government has been on high alert for signs of social strain caused by financial stresses from a slowing economy. Aggrieved investors in now-worthless “wealth management” products issued by Evergrande held protests in late 2021 and early 2022 outside the developer’s offices after it missed payments to contractors and creditors.

The organised effort by Evergrande investors over the past week in Shenzhen marked the first sizeable protests since 2022. They were organised to follow official channels for expressing grievances in order to avoid antagonising authorities, people with knowledge of the campaign told Reuters. More than 500 former Evergrande investors joined three separate actions in Shenzhen, according to people who took part.

On Monday, a group visited an investigation bureau in the district where Evergrande was headquartered. On Tuesday, another group queued at the city's economic crimes bureau. On Wednesday, a third group went to a city court. The aim was for the investors to reach the front desks of those government offices one-by-one in a manner that would not look like a public protest or invite a crackdown by police, people involved said. Reuters could not confirm the total number of people involved. A Reuters reporter saw dozens of people outside the investigation bureau on Monday, and dozens of others gathered near the court on Wednesday.

Helped by mass surveillance technology, China’s police and security forces disperse any gathering quickly and sensitive online discourse, including discussions of the recent attacks, is swiftly censored.

But officials do sometimes shift policy to address grievances, for instance by abruptly ending COVID curbs in early 2023 or by compensating bank depositors after a fraud scandal in 2022. Some analysts anticipate Beijing could offer more economic stimulus to improve household finances if social discontent grows. China Dissent Monitor, a project by U.S.-based rights group Freedom House, reported 826 protests triggered by economic reasons in the third quarter, the highest number on record and up 31% year-on-year. Grievances included unpaid wages and undelivered properties because of the failure of developers, the group said.

HONG KONG
IPO
Jiuyuan Gene(02566.HK), which will be listed today (28Nov), opened down 6% to $11.68 on gray market. Peaking/ bottoming at $11.68/8.6, it closed at $8.88, down 28.5% or $3.54 from the listing price, on volume of 4.67 million shares and turnover of $43 million, according to PhillipMart data. Excluding handling fee, the book loss was $708 per board lot size of 200 shares. On the Futu platform it opened down 8.2% to $11.4 on gray market. Peaking/ bottoming at $12.26/7.55, it closed at $8.89, down 28.4% or $3.53 from the listing price, on volume of 3.13 million shares and turnover of $29.3 million. Excluding handling fee, the book loss was $706 per board lot size of 200 shares.

S.F. Holding (06936.HK), which was listed Wednesday, opened at $34.3. Peaking/ bottoming at $35.5/34.3, the stock closed at $34.3, on volume of 51.64 million shares and turnover of $1.79 billion.

Buybacks
SWIRE PACIFIC A (00019.HK) repurchased a total of 93,000 shares of the company on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on November 27 at prices ranging from $63.95 to $65 per share for a total of $5.9975 million, as the company disclosed in its statement. Since the ordinary resolution was passed, the company has repurchased a total of 27.6165 million shares, representing 3.3068% of its issued share capital.

PRU (02378.HK) announced that it repurchased approximately 583,000 shares of the company on the London Stock Exchange yesterday (26th) at a price of between GBP6.408 and GBP6.55 per share, involving a total of GBP3.781 million. Since the passing of the resolution authorizing the repurchase, the Company has repurchased a total of over 83.29 million shares, representing nearly 3.03% of its issued share capital.

TENCENT (00700.HK) repurchased today (27th) 1.77 million shares of the company on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, with the transaction price ranging from $392.2 to $405.8 per share, involving about $704 million. Since the resolution was passed, the company has repurchased a total of approximately 193 million shares, accounting for approximately 2.05% of the issued share capital.

SINOPEC CORP (00386.HK) repurchased 6.204 million H shares of the company on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong today (27th) at a $4.13-4.2 per share, involving about $25.747 million. Since the passing of the repurchase mandate resolution on June 28, the Company has repurchased a total of approximately 235 million shares, representing approximately 0.19% of its issued share capital.

HSI Short Selling Wednesday 21% vs 18.2% Tuesday
Top shorts Sands China (1928) 46%, Trip Com (9961) 41%, New World Development (17) 40%, Li Auto (2015) 38%, HK & China Gas (3) 37%, Anta (2020) 33%, Nongfu Spring (9633) 32%, Hang Seng Bank (11) 32%, China Overseas (688) 32%, Sunny Optical (2382) 32%, SHKP (16) 31%, Hansoh Pharma (3692) 30%, AIA (1299) 30%, Techtronics (669) 29%, China Res Beer (291) 29%, Li Ning (2331) 29%, Xinyi Solar (968) 28%, Zijin Mining (2899) 28%, Henderson Land (12) 27%, BYD Electronic (285) 27%, Chow Tai Fook (1929) 27%, Hengan (1044) 27%, JD-SW (9618) 27%, Sinopharm (1099) 27%, Meituan (3690) 26%, China Res Land (1109) 26%, Geely Auto (175) 26%, OOIL (316) 26%, China Hongqiao (1378) 25%, BYD (1211) 25%, CKH (1113) 25%.

WATCH
The Hong Kong government today (27th) announced that the Chief Executive, in his capacity as the Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), appointed Peter Wong, Chairman of HSBC, as the Chairman of the HKU Council for a term of three years with effect from January 1, 2025.

The EU General Court has rejected HSBC HOLDINGS (00005.HK) 's appeal against the fine related to the manipulation of the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor), but HSBC HOLDINGS can still appeal to the European Court of Justice, Bloomberg reported. In 2016, EU judges overturned a EUR34 million fine against HSBC HOLDINGS due to procedural issues. However, it was re-ruled in 2021 that HSBC HOLDINGS must pay a fine of nearly EUR32 million as the group was found to have illegally participated in manipulating Euribor. Subsequently, HSBC HOLDINGS appealed against the fine, but the EU General Court's latest decision upheld the original ruling.

STANCHART (02888.HK) announced the first in a small number of potential business exits so as to fund incremental investment in its leading wealth management business. This aligns with the refreshed strategic priorities shared in the group’s 3Q24 results, aimed at accelerating income growth and returns. STANCHART is exploring the potential sale of its Wealth & Retail Banking (WRB) businesses in Botswana, Uganda and Zambia. The group will concentrate its resources in these markets on serving the cross-border needs of global corporate and financial institution clients. In addition, the group said that the financial effects of the proposed exits are not material to the group as a whole and should be considered as included in the guidance provided in its 3Q24 results.

Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of BABA-W (09988.HK), announced the launch of its “Technology for the Future” program in Hong Kong, aiming to provide growth momentum for enterprises harnessing AI. Yuan Qian, president of international business at Alibaba Cloud, said that Hong Kong is an important market for Alibaba Cloud to export its pioneering technologies to the world, and that it has been using Hong Kong as a springboard to provide Cloud + AI technology support for its global enterprise customers. Down the road, it will continue to beef up its investment in infrastructure and talent cultivation to promote sustainable innovation in Hong Kong. She revealed that Alibaba Cloud's international business revenue continued to record double-digit YoY growth, and the number of active users also escalated 60% YoY. Leo Liu, vice president of international business and general manager of North APAC region at Alibaba Cloud, added that Hong Kong is one of the largest data centers in Alibaba Cloud's global deployment and that Hong Kong's data center has always had expansion plan in the hope of meeting customers' ever-changing needs on the cloud.

PARADISE ENT (01180.HK) Co-Chairman and Managing Director Jay Chun said yesterday (26th) at an event that the company has not yet discussed the future operations of satellite casinos with gaming companies, and that it will depend on the policies of the new Macau government, Allin News reported. Chun also expressed hope for a swift conclusion, with the primary focus currently on determining the management fee.

MACAU
Information from Macau's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated a notable rise in the demand for manpower in tourism related industries on account of soaring visitor arrivals. Number of full-time employees in Hotels (58,638) increased by 4,836 or 9% year-on-year at the end of the third quarter of 2024. At the end of the third quarter, job vacancies in Hotels (2,362) increased by 480 year-on-year. The job vacancy rate (3.9%) in Hotels climbed by 0.5 percentage points year-on-year in the third quarter. Average earning of full-time employees in Hotels was MOP19,780, up by 0.7% year-on-year.

Wednesday's closings in EUROPE & US

DAX -0.18%, CAC -0.72%, FTSE 0.2%
European markets opened mixed. FTSE flat and trading sideways around flat all day. DAX & CAC trended lower thought the morning and recovered in the afternoon. Market still reacting to Trump’s threatened tariffs. Sectors mixed; +VE were; Telcoms, F&B, Utilities and Financial Services.

Easyjet closed 0.4% having rallied 1.5% at the open but later pared gains after the budget airline posted a 25% rise in full-year operating profit.

Just Eat Takeaway -2.24% after the company announced it would delist from the London Stock Exchange next month.

Aston Martin -5.5% after the luxury carmaker issued another profit warning.

DOW -0.31%, NDX -0.6%, S&P -0.38%, Russel 2K 0.08%
US markets opened mixed with light volumes; DOW and S&P flat and then drifted lower. NDX opened lower with weakness in Dell & HP after earnings, along with Nvidia but did see a small recovery in the afternoon. The Russell opened higher initially although it sold down to flat and traded sideways

PCE data was stable, Personal Income rose more than expected but spending dropped MoM but inline with forecasts. Initial claims were stable, Durable Goods recovered MoM but Ex Transport dropped.

Pending home sales rose; even with the higher lever of mortgages.

Markets will be closed Thursday and will have shortened trading on Friday.

Banks JPMorgan Chase -0.18%, Citigroup 0.41% Wells Fargo -0.14%, Amex -1.32%
Ecommerce Meta -4.34%, Apple -0.13%, Amazon -2.12%, Netflix 4.74%, Disney 2.5%, Zoom Video 1.95%, Alphabet 0.2% and Microsoft -5% Federal Trade Commission announced it was conducting an anti trust probe, just before the close,
Tech NXP Semi -2.13%, Nvidia -1.58%, Micron -3.6%, AMD -1.48%, Skyworks 0.52%
Industrial/Discretionary Boeing 1.64%, Caterpillar -4.13%, Simon Property 0.29%, Kohl’s -0.47%, Nordstrom -2%, Gap 0.07%, United Airlines -0.16%, Carnival -0.2%, Wynn Resorts -0.19%
Energy Chevron -0.42%, Exxon Mobil -0.31%,
Consumer Staples Campbell Soup -0.53% General Mills 0.24%, JM Smucker -2.09%

DAILY DATA
USD weaker, Bitcoin 5.8% at 96,472.30, VIX unch at 14.1
US T10 -5.4 bpts to 4.248% and T2 -3.3 bpts at 4.221% as PCE data was in-line with forecasts.
OIL Brent 0.03%, WTI -0.07% as traders watch the Middle East cease fire and ahead of Sunday’s OPEC + meeting.
Gold 0.53%, Silver -1.02%, Copper 0.47% Platinum 0.4%, Palladium -1.03%.