Newsquawk Daily Asia-Pac Opening News - 31st August 2026

US attacked two missile launchers of the IRGC on Larak Island on Sunday, which were said to be on standby to launch missiles with sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz, while there were later reports of explosions heard near Larak Island. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned the US strike on Larak Island would be met with a response and punishment, while it said several soldiers and civilians were killed and wounded in the assault. US stocks were on the backfoot on Friday as the major gainers the previous day pared initial strength, while Marvell earnings also weighed on indices, after earnings were considered disappointing given lower-than-expected gross margin guidance and the deferral of longer-term fiscal guidance. Attention was on Fed Chair Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole, which proved to be hawkish and pressured cyclical-exposed names. Warsh outlined that inflation remains a greater concern than employment, even in light of better-than-expected inflation figures through summer, while he noted the Fed has more work to do unless progress towards its 2% inflation target resumes, as well as stated the Fed’s predominant focus now should be on prices and that the July FOMC expressed readiness to act as circumstances might require. Looking ahead, highlights include South Korean Industrial Production & Retail Sales, Japanese Industrial Production & Retail Sales, Australian MI Inflation Gauge, Private Sector Credit & Company Profits, New Zealand ANZ Business Confidence, Chinese Official PMIs, Holiday Closures in Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam & UK. SNAPSHOT STOCKS S&P 500 -0.3% Nasdaq Comp. -0.5% DJIA Flat Russell 2000 -1.4% FX DXY (99.68) EUR/USD -0.1% USD/JPY Flat GBP/USD Flat BONDS US T-Note Sep'26 -15 ticks 10yr Bund Sep'26 -41 ticks US 10yr Yield 4.72% German 10yr Yield 3.27% ENERGY & METALS WTI Oct'26 -0.1% Brent Nov'26 -0.3% Spot Gold -0.5% CME Copper -0.7% CRYPTO Bitcoin +0.4% Ethereum +0.6% As of 22:10BST/17:10EDT LOOKING AHEAD Highlights include South Korean Industrial Production & Retail Sales, Japanese Industrial Production & Retail Sales, Australian MI Inflation Gauge, Private Sector Credit & Company Profits, New Zealand ANZ Business Confidence, Chinese Official PMIs, Holiday Closures in Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam & UK. Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead. IRAN CONFLICT US attacked two missile launchers of the IRGC on Larak Island on Sunday, which were said to be on standby to launch missiles with sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz, while there were later reports of explosions heard near Larak Island. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned the US strike on Larak Island would be met with a response and punishment, while it said several soldiers and civilians were killed and wounded in the assault. Iran's President said on Friday that Iran is ready for cooperation and understanding with regional countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while it is to open its route if four commitments are met. He also stated that Iran is to increase gasoline prices, and that exports and imports have decreased by up to 35% because of US sanctions and the blockade. UAE’s central bank will investigate Banque Misr after the US Treasury Department moved to cut off the Egyptian bank’s UAE branches from the US financial system as part of sanctions against Iran. US TRADE US stocks were on the backfoot on Friday as the major gainers the previous day pared initial strength, while Marvell earnings also weighed on indices, after earnings were considered disappointing given lower-than-expected gross margin guidance and the deferral of longer-term fiscal guidance. Attention was on Fed Chair Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole, which proved to be hawkish and pressured cyclical-exposed names. Warsh outlined that inflation remains a greater concern than employment, even in light of better-than-expected inflation figures through summer, while he noted the Fed has more work to do unless progress towards its 2% inflation target resumes, as well as stated the Fed’s predominant focus now should be on prices and that the July FOMC expressed readiness to act as circumstances might require. In response, the dollar saw broad-based strength, the Treasury curve flattened, and spot gold was weighed by the renewed Fed rate hike bets, with Barclays and SocGen anticipating hikes in September and December. At the same time as Warsh's speech, the prelim NFP annual revision was -79k, and UoM final revisions were slightly better than expected, with the 1yr inflation expectation ticking down; price action was determined by Warsh. SPX -0.25% at 7,711, NDX -0.70% at 29,433, DJI -0.02% at 53,564, RUT -1.39% at 2,972. Click here for a detailed summary. TARIFFS/TRADE US President posted “Canadian businesses are pouring into the United States. We want to make our own cars, etc. That’s what’s going to happen. Canada has been ripping us off for years — NO LONGER!”. Trump separately posted “Let all Canadian Companies that are doing business with America move to the United States, immediately. Many of them are Companies that moved out years ago due to stupid U.S. Leadership. When you move back, there are no TARIFFS!” Ontario Premier Ford ridiculed US President Trump's order changing the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America, but expressed optimism that Canada and the US would eventually overcome differences on trade and tariffs. Vietnam Deputy PM Nguyen reiterated to USTR Greer that Vietnam is ready for open and constructive trade talks with the US. NOTABLE HEADLINES Fed's Goolsbee (2027 Voter) said on Friday that he agreed with Fed Chair Warsh about details of the economy and agreed that inflation is the main issue right now. Goolsbee also stated that it is clear that inflation from overheated demand is hard to address, while he added that inflation has continued for longer than expected. COMMODITIES US President Trump announced on Friday that the US will take a majority control over a large amount of Venezuela’s oil wealth, while Trump posted on Sunday that one of the things he will do with Venezuelan oil is to fill up the strategic national reserves and blamed former President Biden for emptying the reserve. Venezuelan President Rodriguez said an energy agreement with the US would remain in place for 25 years, target an increase in crude output to 1.5mln bpd and preserve the country’s sovereignty over its natural resources. It was separately reported by Wall Street Journal that the US will take a 35% passive stake in Venezuelan mogul Alejandro Betancourt’s oil venture North American Blue Energy Partners. Eni (ENI IM) is working with Venezuelan authorities to aid the country's energy sector revival. Iraq’s Kurdistan region said oil output resumed at up to 230k bpd following drone strikes, while Iraq’s Oil Ministry said the Kurdistan region’s oil exports to Turkey’s Ceyhan port are around 150k bpd. Russia extended its diesel exports ban until September 30th amid intensified Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. GEOPOLITICAL RUSSIA-UKRAINE Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russian troops captured three villages in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Sumy regions. At least 37 people were killed in a village west of Kyiv following a Russian strike on a warehouse. Ukraine said Russia is readying for a potential new ground offensive towards Kyiv and Chernihiv, while it was also reported that air raid sirens and explosions were heard in Kyiv on Sunday. Ukrainian President Zelensky was reported on Friday to want Ukraine to launch 1k long-range drones at Russia per day. A missile hit Russia’s Belgorod on Sunday, which damaged a logistics facility housing an Ozon sorting centre and delivery hub, while the regional governor said the Ukrainian attack injured 16 people. OTHER US has threatened to oppose Britain’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands if PM Burnham does not increase defence spending, according to The Telegraph. ASIA-PAC NOTABLE HEADLINES Chinese chipmaker CXMT (688825 CH) sued the US Department of Defense as it seeks to be removed from the blacklist of companies linked to the Chinese military. South Korean President Lee nominated Lee Hyoung-il as the new finance minister and Kang Shin-chul as defence minister. BoK warned that the semiconductor boom could reignite inflation if corporate and household income gains translate into consumption. Day traders are reportedly abandoning Korean chip leveraged ETFs in large numbers, as leveraged ETFs targeting twice the daily returns of chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have seen their trading value collapse to 4% of the June peak and are on course for their first monthly outflow. EU/UK NOTABLE HEADLINES BoE Governor Bailey said on Friday that they are seeing quite subdued second-round effects so far and can watch this situation for now, but cannot promise that muted second-round effects will continue. ECB's Kocher said on Friday that it is important how long-lived inflation proves to be and there are threats to price stability, while he added there's alertness and no complacency. French PM Lecornu warned that France needs to pass a budget ahead of presidential elections next year or risk political and financial instability. Iceland rejected EU accession talks in a referendum by 52.8% vs 47.2% of votes. German Finance Minister Klingbeil plans to advocate for ending economically damaging conflict, including tariff disputes and wars in Iran and Ukraine during G20 talks in North Carolina. S&P affirmed Portugal A+; Outlook Positive, citing resilient economic growth, while Fitch affirmed France at A+; Outlook Stable.