Newsquawk Daily Asia-Pac Opening News - 18th May 2026

• US stocks closed in the red on Friday with all sectors lower, aside from Energy, as Materials and Utilities lagged, while broad-based mega-cap weakness added to the losses. Energy was the only sector in the green and buoyed by gains in the crude complex amid renewed escalation risk as Trump returned from China and attention turned back to Iran. On that, little incrementally new came out of the Xi/Trump summit, and many awaited Trump’s return from China. As a reminder, source reports through the week suggested Trump was weighing up possibly resuming military action, but sources added they don't think he would order any before he returns from China, while Israeli sources stated that readiness would be raised upon the end of Trump's visit.
• US President Trump warned on Truth Social that the clock is ticking for Iran and that they better get moving fast, or there won’t be anything left for them, and that time is of the essence.
• US President Trump declined to give a specific deadline for negotiations with Iran and will hold a Situation Room meeting with his national security team on Tuesday to discuss possible options for military action, while he spoke with Israeli PM Netanyahu about the situation in Iran, according to Axios.
• Looking ahead, Highlights include New Zealand Performance of Services Index, Singapore Non-Oil Exports, Chinese House Prices, Industrial Production & Retail Sales, Thai GDP, Supply from Japan, Canada Holiday Closure on Monday.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include New Zealand Performance of Services Index, Singapore Non-Oil Exports, Chinese House Prices, Industrial Production & Retail Sales, Thai GDP, Supply from Japan, Canada Holiday Closure on Monday.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

IRAN CONFLICT

• US President Trump warned on Truth Social that the clock is ticking for Iran and that they better get moving fast, or there won’t be anything left for them, and that time is of the essence.
• US President Trump declined to give a specific deadline for negotiations with Iran and will hold a Situation Room meeting with his national security team on Tuesday to discuss possible options for military action, while he spoke with Israeli PM Netanyahu about the situation in Iran, according to Axios. Trump also stated that he still thinks Iran wants a deal and he is waiting for an updated Iranian proposal, which he hopes will be better than the prior offer. Furthermore, Axios’s Ravid reported that Trump threatened that attacks would resume with greater intensity if the Iranian regime does not come up with a better proposal, while Channel 12’s Kraus posted that President Trump said in a phone call that he thinks the Iranians should be afraid of what’s going on right now.
• US President Trump posted a generated image of a drone striking boats with Iranian flags and the caption BYE BYE, “Fast Boats”, while he also posted an image of ships in the US with the caption “Empty Oil Tankers are SAILING to the US to LOAD UP on OIL!”
• Iranian Defence Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik warned of a regretful response to enemies and said that Iranian armed forces are fully prepared to confront any potential attack by the US and Israeli regime, according to IRNA.
• Iranian Major General Rezaei said Iran is serious about diplomacy and negotiations, but is more serious about dealing with the aggressor, while he added that the US must now prove its good intentions and that Iranian armed forces are on the trigger as diplomatic efforts continue.
• Iran said transit through the Strait of Hormuz would flow again once its conflict with the US and Israel is over, although the sides remain far from resolving their differences, according to Bloomberg. In relevant news, three cargo-empty, US-sanctioned tankers reportedly slipped through the US naval blockade in recent days, according to TankerTrackers.com.
• Israeli senior official was reported on Friday to have told Channel 12 that Tel Aviv was preparing for the possibility of an imminent resumption of war with the Islamic Republic, while the official said regarding negotiations between Tehran and Washington that "The Americans have concluded that the negotiations are not going anywhere."
• US State Department official said on Friday that the atmosphere of the second day of talks between Lebanon and Israel was extremely positive and exceeded expectations, while the State Department announced that Israel and Lebanon's cessation of hostilities will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress. However, it was also reported that Israel said it carried out a Gaza strike targeting the de facto head of Hamas's armed wing, while Israel also conducted an airstrike on the towns of Froun, Kfar Hounah and Zawtar al-Sharqiya in southern Lebanon.
• UAE officials said a drone attack set off a fire near the UAE’s nuclear power station, while it was still investigating the source of the attack.
• Saudi Defence Ministry said it intercepted three drones launched from Iraq after entering the kingdom’s airspace.

US TRADE

• US stocks closed in the red on Friday with all sectors lower, aside from Energy, as Materials and Utilities lagged, while broad-based mega-cap weakness added to the losses. Energy was the only sector in the green and buoyed by gains in the crude complex amid renewed escalation risk as Trump returned from China and attention turned back to Iran. On that, little incrementally new came out of the Xi/Trump summit, and many awaited Trump’s return from China. As a reminder, source reports through the week suggested Trump was weighing up possibly resuming military action, but sources added they don't think he would order any before he returns from China, while Israeli sources stated that readiness would be raised upon the end of Trump's visit.
• SPX -1.24% at 7,408, NDX -1.54% at 29,125, DJI -1.07% at 49,531, RUT -2.44% at 2,793.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• USTR Greer said President Trump will be presented with options for action on China if US investigations determine that industrial overcapacity is influencing Chinese exports.
• White House released a Fact Sheet on Sunday following last week’s Trump-Xi summit, which stated that China will purchase at least USD 17bln in US agricultural products annually for 2026, 2027 and 2028.
• China’s MOFCOM said it agreed with the US to set up trade and investment bodies, while it also confirmed that the US had agreed to sell aircraft, aircraft engines and components to China, according to WSJ.
• China’s MOFCOM pushed back against the EU’s use of its Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which followed criticism by its justice ministry that related cross-border probes constituted “improper extraterritorial jurisdiction”.
• China flagged that Australian beef imports are approaching the safeguard threshold and are at the 80% of the annual quota, which caps imports at current tariff rates, while additional imports would be subject to 55% tariffs on top of existing tariffs three days after shipments reach 100% of the quota.
• France wants Stellantis (STLA IM) and Renault (RNO FP) to favour local parts suppliers to protect jobs and keep know-how in the region as Europe’s automakers deepen ties with manufacturers from China.
• UK is reportedly close to a trade agreement with Gulf Council states, according to FT.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Fed named Jerome Powell as the temporary chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on Friday until his successor, Kevin Warsh, is sworn in.
• Federal funding for President Trump’s planned ballroom hit a procedural roadblock at the Senate on Saturday.

GLOBAL

• WHO declared a global health emergency following an Ebola outbreak in Congo, which has killed about 80 people, according to WSJ.

COMMODITIES

• US allowed a Russia oil sales waiver to expire, despite concerns regarding global oil supplies and higher energy costs amid the Iran conflict.
• Iran energy crisis reportedly enters a new phase as the peak summer season draws closer, according to FT.
• Venezuela circulated a draft of regulations as part of its oil law rules for companies seeking to invest in the country’s oil production.
• India tightened silver import regulations amid efforts to defend the domestic currency, in which the government notified that the import of silver bars was now “restricted” instead of “free”.

GEOPOLITICAL

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• Ukraine upped the pressure on Russia with the biggest strike on Moscow in over a year involving dozens of drones on Sunday, according to WSJ.
• Ukrainian manufacturers and officials warned that the EU’s plan to slash steel imports would hurt Ukraine.

OTHER

• Intelligence claimed that Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones and recently began discussing plans to use them to attack the US base at Guantanamo Bay, US military vessels and possibly Key West, Florida, according to Axios, which added that the intelligence could become a pretext for US military action and shows the degree to which the Trump administration sees Cuba as a threat.
• US President Trump said US and Nigerian forces killed an ISIS leader who was hiding in Africa.
• US President Trump’s advisers fear that China may target Taiwan in the next 5 years, according to Axios.
• Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday that Taiwan will never be sacrificed or traded, after US President Trump recently described a planned USD 14bln arms sale to Taipei as a bargaining chip with China.
• Frictions between Norway and Malaysia increased following a scrapped weapons deal, with Norway revoking export licences for a naval strike missile system.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Chinese President Xi and Russian President Putin exchanged congratulatory messages at the opening of the China-Russian Expo in China’s north-eastern city of Harbin, while Putin is to visit China on May 19th-20th.
• Chinese MIIT Minister Li Lecheng said China should upgrade “outdated” industries, and not scrap them, because manufacturing remains the backbone of the economy.
• China’s State Administration for Market Regulation set 34 priorities for this year to support private sector growth, with a focus on fair competition, legal protections and efficient regulation.

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• UK PM Starmer was reportedly mulling whether he would bring more government stability by announcing a timetable for his departure and a leadership election, according to ITV.
• Former UK Health Secretary Streeting vowed to stand in any Labour Party leadership contest to oust UK PM Starmer. In relevant news, Streeting said he would battle Manchester City Mayor Burnham for the Labour leadership and called for the UK to rejoin the EU, while Burnham played down rejoining the EU, according to FT.
• UK Chancellor Reeves is reportedly to lay out more details in the week ahead regarding proposals to ease bank regulations that were imposed to prevent a repeat of the 2008 GFC.
• Fitch affirmed Germany's sovereign rating at AAA; Outlook Stable, while DBRS maintained Portugal at A (high), Outlook Raised to Positive.