Newsquawk Daily Asia-Pac Opening News - 8th October 2026

US stocks finished lower following relatively broad-based weakness amid fluctuations in yields, with the Russell 2000 and equal-weight S&P 500 underperforming the major indices. The DJI also lagged, while the SPX and NDX saw more modest losses. Sectors were predominantly lower, with Industrials, Materials and Real Estate leading the declines, while Health Care outperformed. Treasuries saw two-way trade and recovered from earlier weakness to finish mixed-to-firmer, with the curve bull steepening as the front end led the rally while the long end was little changed on the day. T-notes initially tracked weakness in European government bonds amid renewed French fiscal concerns, before recovering as crude reversed from its highs and following another stellar US 10-year auction. USD was firmer against peers in risk-off trade as further bond volatility sparked renewed US strength. Despite US yields managing to pare the early rise, especially after a strong US 10yr note auction, DXY kept onto its gains, as French fiscal woes continue to drag on EUR performance. FOMC Minutes sparked little reaction, given its backwards-looking nature, the recent soft jobs report, and the more apt remarks we've had since from Fed members. Looking ahead, highlights include South Korean Current Account, Japanese Current Account & Eco Watchers Survey, Thailand Consumer Confidence, Supply from Australia & Japan. SNAPSHOT STOCKS S&P 500 -0.2% Nasdaq Comp. -0.2% DJIA -0.7% Russell 2000 -1.3% ES Dec'26 -0.3% RTY Dec'26 -1.3% NQ Dec'26 -0.3% YM Dec'26 -0.8% FX DXY +0.4% (102.28) EUR/USD -0.6% USD/JPY Flat GBP/USD -0.5% BONDS US T-Note Dec'26 -2.5 ticks 10yr Bund Dec'26 +4 ticks US 10yr Yield 5.29% German 10yr Yield 3.48% ENERGY & METALS WTI Nov'26 -0.6% Brent Dec'26 +0.6% Spot Gold -1.3% LME Copper +0.3% CRYPTO Bitcoin -2.6% Ethereum -4.7% As of 21:50BST/16:50EDT LOOKING AHEAD Highlights include South Korean Current Account, Japanese Current Account & Eco Watchers Survey, Thailand Consumer Confidence, Supply from Australia & Japan. Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead. FOMC MINUTES FOMC Minutes stated all participants supported the 25bps hike in September and most assessed another increase would likely be appropriate by the end of the year, while participants generally emphasised inflation remained elevated while the job market appeared near full employment. Participants offered a range of views for why they supported a rate increase and generally saw inflation risks skewed to the upside, with some seeing those risks becoming more skewed in recent months. Furthermore, almost all participants saw inflation risks tilted to the upside, while job market risks were broadly balanced. IRAN CONFLICT US President Trump might order another Iran strike before the midterms, and Pentagon planners are crafting options, although no final decision has been made. White House has asked the Pentagon to develop strike options against Iranian targets that could be exercised ahead of the midterms, according to two administration officials. Furthermore, the size and targets of the potential strikes—and whether the administration will ultimately proceed—are still being debated. Mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran have stalled, while Hormuz is no longer a priority for Washington after Iran lost control of it, according to sources cited by Al Hadath and Al Arabiya. Furthermore, it was stated that progress in negotiations is linked to Iran's response to Trump's demands regarding its nuclear capabilities, with Washington demanding that Iran acknowledge it will not continue developing its nuclear capabilities. Iranian President Pezeshkian said a deal with the US is not out of reach if the US adheres to international legal frameworks, while he added that America's totalitarianism is the biggest obstacle to reaching a fair agreement, according to ISNA. It was separately reported that Iranian President Pezeshkian and Russian President Putin stressed the need to continue and strengthen bilateral cooperation, according to IRNA. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei said Iran's considerations and conditions for ending the war on all fronts and restoring security to the Persian Gulf region and the Strait have been clearly and firmly explained, and the necessary response to US proposals will be provided through mediators. He also stated that Iran will continue its efforts to strengthen trust and interaction between regional countries, while he stated that Tehran has spared no effort, in consultation with Oman as another coastal state, to restore security to the Strait of Hormuz, and the two sides had agreed on the geographical coordinates for safe transit routes and on how the agreement will be presented internationally, while the agreement between Iran and Oman on the safe routes of Hormuz will soon be reflected in international references. Iranian senior official said US VP Vance's comments on Iran's nuclear programme are American "ideas and requests", adding that US ideas are at odds with Iran's demands. The official said there have been no negotiations between Iran and the US about Tehran's nuclear programme, while the US must first meet Iran's conditions before the nuclear issue can be discussed, and recognition of Iran's right to enrichment is Iran's red line. Furthermore, it was stated that Iran will never give up its right to enrichment, but enrichment details can be discussed later. Iranian Army spokesperson said Iran has shifted its military doctrine from a defensive to an offensive approach and applied the doctrine during the latest war, according to Al-Akhbar. The spokesperson added that if US ground aggression occurs and US forces enter Iranian territory or islands, they will become more vulnerable to targeting. IRGC commander adviser Naqdi said the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and under full control of Iran's armed forces until Iran's demands are met, while illegal routes used for oil smuggling will soon be blocked. A separate report also noted that Iran's Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guard said "the routes created by violators in the Strait of Hormuz will soon be closed by blowing up some of the rocky routes located in the strait". Iranian Army spokesperson said Iran will launch pre-emptive attacks if needed and used new offensive and defensive equipment during the 40-day war, according to Fars. Explosions were reportedly heard in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Sabren News. UK MTO received a report of an incident 51nm North of Madinat Ash Shamal, Qatar, in which casualties have been reported, after being struck by multiple projectiles. Saudi-Led coalition said it destroyed a launcher used to attack Riyadh. Saudi Arabia and Syria are discussing sending Syrian troops to Yemen to join the counteroffensive against the Houthi rebels, three US officials told Axios. Pakistani army confirmed the presence of its military forces in Saudi Arabia, while it stated that Pakistani soldiers are performing their duties in multiple capacities and areas. US TRADE US stocks finished lower following relatively broad-based weakness amid fluctuations in yields, with the Russell 2000 and equal-weight S&P 500 underperforming the major indices. The DJI also lagged, while the SPX and NDX saw more modest losses. Sectors were predominantly lower, with Industrials, Materials and Real Estate leading the declines, while Health Care outperformed. Treasuries saw two-way trade and recovered from earlier weakness to finish mixed-to-firmer, with the curve bull steepening as the front end led the rally while the long end was little changed on the day. T-notes initially tracked weakness in European government bonds amid renewed French fiscal concerns, before recovering as crude reversed from its highs and following another stellar US 10-year auction. SPX -0.22% at 7,801, NDX -0.21% at 31,160, DJI -0.66% at 51,179, RUT -1.27% at 2,794. Click here for a detailed summary. TARIFFS/TRADE US President Trump said if the US didn't buy Swiss watches anymore, it would save USD 40bln, while he touted pharmaceutical company investments in the US. Trump also commented that Canada has been very difficult to deal with and that it would like to make a deal, but stated that they are not satisfied. USTR released a joint ministerial statement from 12 G20 countries plus the EU and Poland calling for steps to eliminate excess capacity and production in all economies. US FCC is to vote on October 29 regarding a proposal to bar Chinese labs from testing electronic devices such as smartphones, cameras and computers for use in the US. Talks between the EU and China will focus on autos, as the EU seeks a commitment from China to stem exports of hybrid vehicles, according to Politico citing sources. EU is preparing a temporary import cap on Chinese hybrid cars, according to Bloomberg. China has rejected an EU request to voluntarily restrict exports of hybrid cars to Europe, as the two sides enter last-ditch talks to avert a trade conflict, according to FT. China and the EU could monitor trade within hybrid autos but also use trade probe tools against the EU, according to CCTV. UK government will impose a new anti-dumping measure on imports of rutile titanium dioxide from China, finding that the product is being dumped into the UK and poses an imminent threat of injury to domestic industry. NOTABLE HEADLINES US President Trump said Fed Chair Warsh is great, but he's "one vote", while he added that interest rates should come down. US Treasury will buy back up to USD 6bln of 20-30-year nominal coupons in a liquidity support operation on October 8, unchanged from the previous USD 6bln. DATA RECAP US NY Fed SCE: 1-year 3.9% (Prev. 3.6%); 3-year 3.3% (Prev. 3.2%); 5-year 3.0% (Prev. 3.0%) FX USD was firmer against peers in risk-off trade as further bond volatility sparked renewed US strength. Despite US yields managing to pare the early rise, especially after a strong US 10yr note auction, DXY kept onto its gains, as French fiscal woes continue to drag on EUR performance. FOMC Minutes sparked little reaction, given its backwards-looking nature, the recent soft jobs report, and the more apt remarks we've had since from Fed members. EUR underperformed as French yields surged higher as markets remain unsatisfied with the fiscal path. Brief relief was found on a WSJ report that the French Finance Minister said they are considering issuing more short-term debt amid bond market turmoil. This was later met with pushback by the Finance Ministry, stating no changes have been made to bond issuance strategy. GBP retreated throughout the European morning and briefly dipped beneath the 1.3200 handle, before paring some of the losses, albeit with the rebound limited in risk-off trade. JPY was indecisive with USD/JPY ultimately returning to flat territory after trading on both sides of the 158.00 level in tandem with choppy US yields. FIXED INCOME T-notes settled relatively flat after paring initial downside as oil declined and following another stellar 10-year auction. COMMODITIES Oil prices were choppy, but ultimately settled lower as participants weighed up supply and geopolitical-related updates. US EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change -3.2M vs. Exp. 1.7M (Prev. 0.9M); SPR fell 0.8M to 283M. US EPA Administrator said the EPA is days away from unveiling next oil and gas proposal. IEA members expressed support for accelerating the oil stock releases announced in the collective action of March, looking to complete them as soon as possible. The releases would bring approx. 100mln barrels to the market. IEA members hold the equivalent of 1.1bln barrels in reserve, more than 200mln of which is diesel. The issue will be discussed at next week's scheduled meeting. EU will only conduct further releases of oil and diesel reserves after the IEA makes clear such a move would not damage the bloc's energy security, according to Politico citing sources. EU Commission spokesperson said EU countries agreed that any release of oil stocks should be done under the IEA's March stock release action. France will release 10mln barrels of diesel from reserves, according to France Info. Iraq will send hundreds of trucks carrying crude across Syria each day. First LNG train at Qatar's Northfield East expansion project is ready to start, with first gas expected in November, according to source reports. Syrian Petroleum Company said an oil pipeline in the northeast of the country was subjected to a "sabotage attack" that caused damage, which was the third such incident in about 10 days. GEOPOLITICAL RUSSIA-UKRAINE Ukrainian President Zelensky said Ukrainian forces struck four targets supporting Russia's war effort, including two oil facilities and a training ground in the Perm, Samara and Astrakhan regions. US President Trump said he has a call set up with Russian President Putin. Russia's Kremlin said no call between President Putin and US President Trump has been agreed yet. ASIA-PAC NOTABLE HEADLINES Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) HBM4E 12-layer product reportedly passed quality verification by NVIDIA (NVDA) and major hyperscaler clients at the end of September, although supply volumes, contract sizes and mass-production timing remain unconfirmed. EU/UK NOTABLE HEADLINES BoE's PRA proposed automatically increasing 128 regulatory thresholds for banks, insurers and credit unions in line with nominal GDP, while the thresholds determine which rules apply, how they apply and reporting requirements. The PRA said the change would improve proportionality, reduce compliance costs, provide greater certainty and lower barriers to growth. ECB's Pereira said current headline and core inflation levels are far below those seen during the 2022 energy shock, adding that there are no second-round inflation effects at present. He said other goods prices show no signs of de-anchoring inflation expectations and that France needs to cut its deficit and debt, pursue reforms and maintain fiscal prudence. ECB's Dolenc said the current ECB rate level ensures flexibility for the central bank's upcoming rate decisions and policy action would depend on inflation expectations and how related risks evolve, while he highlighted geostrategic risks and elevated energy prices as key uncertainties contributing to persistent inflationary pressures. Furthermore, he said the ECB is not responsible for fiscal policy. France reportedly considers issuing more shorter-term debt amid bond market turmoil as investors grow more hesitant to lend to the debt-laden country for longer periods, according to WSJ. French Finance Ministry said there is no change in bond issuance strategy and that French bond issuance strategy follows investor demand. Senior Euro Zone official said they do not see contagion from the rise in French bond yields so far, while the official added that French yields are responding to news out of Paris and that France is an economy that is fundamentally solid and has the capacity to tackle its challenges. Italy's Economy Minister said Italy will ask the EU to consider inflation as a significant factor that can justify deviation from budget goals. Polish Interest Rate Decision (Oct) 3.75% vs. Exp. 3.75% (Prev. 3.75%). NBP said further decisions depend on data, while it added that fiscal policy and energy prices are risks to inflation. NBP said it may intervene in the FX market, as well as stated that September core CPI may fall slightly and geopolitical risks remain a source of uncertainty.