Newsquawk Daily Asia-Pac Opening News - 26th October 2026

• US stocks finished mostly lower on Friday as higher oil prices on an increased geopolitical risk premium weighed on cyclical names via higher yields, but benefited energy names, while Tech saw a slight rebound after Thursday's >3% sell-off. Earnings continued to largely show beats; however, reception has remained poor in terms of price action. Western Digital's strong results helped its peers, although WDC capex concerns and Toshiba competition worries remained (WDC -3.0%). Meanwhile, Industrials was pressured at the open before paring some losses, as Bloom Energy (BE -11.3%) and Comfort Systems USA (FIX -9.3%) sank on margin concerns.
• US President Trump said it was “getting to be decision time” on whether to strike a deal with Tehran or resume attacks, stating, “I have a decision to make: Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? That’s all,” according to an interview with Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures.
• Looking ahead, highlights include Thailand Customs Trade Data, Japanese Leading Index, Singapore Industrial Production, Holiday Closures in New Zealand & Taiwan.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include Thailand Customs Trade Data, Japanese Leading Index, Singapore Industrial Production, Holiday Closures in New Zealand & Taiwan.
• UK clocks moved back one hour on Sunday and reverted to GMT, which means the time difference between London and New York will be four hours for the week ahead.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

• US President Trump said it was “getting to be decision time” on whether to strike a deal with Tehran or resume attacks, stating, “I have a decision to make: Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? That’s all,” according to an interview with Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures.
• US President Trump reiterated at a rally in Michigan on Sunday that the Iran conflict will be ending soon one way or another, while he said higher oil prices are a small price to pay for preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and that there won't be a strike on Iran 'today'.
• US President Trump administration senior intelligence official warned in a memo that Iran had ramped up efforts to target US personnel, adding that lethal plots by Tehran against US citizens had reached "advanced stages".
• US ordered the departure of diplomatic personnel and adjusted staffing at embassies across the Middle East due to Iranian efforts to target Americans and threats from Houthi militants in Yemen, according to a US official.
• US official said that they have put together an expanded list of bombing targets in Iran, which include energy and economic infrastructure, while it was also reported that Israeli PM Netanyahu could order a strike on Iran even if he loses the election, according to The New York Times.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu told Israel's Channel 14 that they will strike Iran again. In relevant news, Israeli PM Netanyahu and IDF Chief Zamir reportedly clashed over a proposed military action against Iran as Netanyahu wanted to strike Iran before the elections, while Zamir requested further discussions and warned of escalation just two days before Israel’s election, according to Channel 12.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said "fundamental and strategic changes" in the region mean "nothing will be the same" after the 40‑day war, including management of the Strait of Hormuz, while he stated that Tehran's policies will not change "whether war breaks out or not" and warned against a military attack on Iran.
• Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Baghaei criticised US Secretary of State Rubio's accusations of piracy against Iran and stated that the US takes pride in piracy itself.
• Iranian officials warned their targets will include US diplomats if the US returns to war, according to NYT.
• Houthi forces said the Saudi-led coalition carried out 56 air and missile strikes on civilian targets in several Yemeni provinces over a 24-hour period.
• Houthi forces said they launched dozens of ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia on Saturday in three separate operations, which targeted the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the King Khalid Airbase in Khamis Mushait and a southern naval base in Jizan. Houthis also announced that they launched a series of strikes on multiple major Saudi airports and energy facilities, including an Aramco facility in Yanbu.
• Saudi Arabia reopened its main airport in Riyadh on Sunday after operations were shut down for two weeks due to Houthi attacks.

• US stocks finished mostly lower on Friday as higher oil prices on an increased geopolitical risk premium weighed on cyclical names via higher yields, but benefited energy names, while Tech saw a slight rebound after Thursday's >3% sell-off. Earnings continued to largely show beats; however, reception has remained poor in terms of price action. Western Digital's strong results helped its peers, although WDC capex concerns and Toshiba competition worries remained (WDC -3.0%). Meanwhile, Industrials was pressured at the open before paring some losses, as Bloom Energy (BE -11.3%) and Comfort Systems USA (FIX -9.3%) sank on margin concerns.
• SPX -0.54% at 7,622, NDX flat at 28,958, DJI -1.24% at 52,215, RUT -0.36% at 2,774.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• US President Trump defended his decision to impose tariffs during a campaign rally in Georgia, claiming they had made the US richer. He announced that Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) had agreed to build a new USD 4.2bln Audi plant in the state. Trump added that his administration had “many other announcements” to make following the announcement of Volkswagen AG's plans to build the factory.
• US President Trump said they are getting close to a deal with Canada and that a deal could come before the elections.
• White House economic adviser Hassett said US trade negotiations with Canada had picked up and were “gathering steam”, according to an interview with Fox News.
• China said it “firmly opposes” a US Treasury proposal to expand the scope and severity of restrictions on US investment in China, describing the measures as discriminatory and “a typical example of an overly broad application of national security concerns”. China's MOFCOM added that the proposed restrictions ran counter to the “important consensus” reached by the two countries' presidents and would harm bilateral economic and trade cooperation, as well as US companies' interests, while it added that Beijing will closely monitor developments and reserves the right to take corresponding measures.

• Brazil's top court extended voting for two hours in the presidential runoff.
• Serbia's leader Vucic conceded defeat in a snap parliamentary election on Sunday.

• US CENTCOM said it helped Gulf states export more than 1.5bln bbls of oil since the summer.
• Libya reopened the oil pipeline from the Hamada and Tahara oilfields to Zawiya. It was also reported that Libya's NOC reopened the Brega refinery following its closure for maintenance.
• United Arab Emirates closed additional beaches amid concerns over environmental and health impacts following an oil spill in the Persian Gulf.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• US President Trump said US-Russia-Ukraine three-way talks are to take place very soon and that he believes both sides want a deal.
• US House Speaker Johnson said he spoke with President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio over the weekend, adding that he had been told the US was planning trilateral negotiations.
• Ukrainian President Zelensky said the US, Russia and Ukraine plan trilateral technical talks in November, while he stated that Kyiv will not trade anything in exchange but is willing to hold talks and that territorial issues must be handled at the leaders' level, although other matters can be handled by technical working groups.
• Ukrainian drones targeted an industrial zone in Russia's Omsk.
• Ukraine said restrictions on the speed of its SpaceX (SPCX) Starlink terminal connections had been lifted during overnight testing.
• Ukrainian home improvement major retailer Epicentr said its business had been “destroyed” by a rapid succession of Russian airstrikes on its distribution centres.
• Russia's Defence Ministry said Russian forces struck a dry cargo ship in the Black Sea that was en route to Ukraine's port of Odesa.

OTHER

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited China for the second time in just over a year, ahead of US President Trump's planned trip to the region next month.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• SoftBank (9984 JT)-backed, Nigeria-focused payments platform Opay is seeking to raise up to USD 336mln in a US IPO. Separately, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son selected locations in Malaysia for USD 50bln in technology investments, according to Malaysia's PM.
• Singapore PM Wong pledged further support for workers and households, while vowing to step up efforts to secure energy supplies and attract investment.
• RBA's Hunter said the central bank was “not quite yet” done fighting inflation, signalling that another rate hike was likely when policymakers meet early next month.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• UK PM Burnham opened the door to Britain readopting the EU's free-movement rules, according to The Sunday Times. It was separately reported that Burnham called for an 'honest discussion' on the free movement of people, which has sparked a furious debate over Britain readopting EU free movement rules, but rejected the idea that the UK could join the euro or the passport-free Schengen travel area, according to FT.
• UK Chancellor Healey will use the upcoming budget to give mayors in England additional funding and powers, including a GBP 1.5bln borrowing facility, as part of plans to shift economic decision-making away from Westminster.
• UK pledged GBP 100mln for an AI Biosecurity Lab supported by OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind, as part of efforts to improve the government's ability to understand and address risks posed by the technology.
• Protests against the war and rising living costs took place in major Italian cities on Saturday, with some incidents of violence following recent unrest across the country.
• France avoided a repeat of large-scale violence and looting during Saturday's protests, which involved around 110K people in a largely peaceful demonstration confined to the outskirts of Paris and another 300K nationwide. The CGT union put the total at 800K. However, isolated clashes were reported in several cities, with police using tear gas and water cannons.
• France's National Rally reelected Bardella as party president in Orléans on Saturday with 98.98% of the vote, with no opposing candidate, while National Rally's Le Pen vowed a national ‘renewal’ in a campaign launch.
• Moody's maintained France's credit rating at Aa3 with a Negative Outlook despite recent civil unrest and rising political risks, while Scope reaffirmed Italy's rating at BBB+ with a Positive Outlook.