Newsquawk Daily Asia-Pac Opening News - 28th October 2026

• US stocks were bid and gains were led by the Nasdaq as AI names continued to recover from recent pressures, with the tech recovery partly supported as Anthropic's S-1 release on Monday and Meta's financing deal announcement continued to help ease some of the AI concerns during Tuesday's trade. Consumer Discretionary, Tech and Communication were the outperformers thanks to gains in heavyweight stocks, while Energy, Real Estate and Consumer Staples lagged. Furthermore, the Treasury curve saw some mild flattening as front-end yields rose and the long end was flat ahead of Wednesday's FOMC rate decision, while there was strong US economic data, including housing, durable goods and consumer confidence reports.
• USD gained, albeit with a mixed performance vs. G10 peers as participants await a deluge of upcoming key events, namely the FOMC decision and Warsh's following press conference, Mag-7 earnings, and PCE data. There were several data releases, but no tier-1 metrics, although figures broadly impressed as durable goods, consumer confidence, and new home sales all topped expectations, while Richmond Fed marginally disappointed with the headline unchanged at -2 vs an anticipated rise to 0.
• Looking ahead, highlights include Australian Monthly & Quarterly CPI, RBNZ Rate Decision, RBNZ Governor Breman Post-Meeting Press Conference, RBA Governor Bullock, Deputy Governor Hauser, Assistant Governors Hunter, Jones & Kent appear before the Senate Economics Legislation Committee.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include Australian Monthly & Quarterly CPI, RBNZ Rate Decision, RBNZ Governor Breman Post-Meeting Press Conference, RBA Governor Bullock, Deputy Governor Hauser, Assistant Governors Hunter, Jones & Kent appear before the Senate Economics Legislation Committee.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

• US CENTCOM rejected claims by Iran's IRGC Navy that US forces had withdrawn from the Strait of Hormuz, saying US forces remain present and that Washington and its regional partners control the waterway.
• Iran's Supreme Leader called for proposals outlining acceptable conditions to end the war, stressing the need to tighten control over the Strait of Hormuz, while he also emphasised the importance of maintaining relations with neighbouring countries based on mutual interests.
• Iranian President Pezeshkian said there was little point in expecting the US to resolve problems in the Middle East, during a meeting with Russian President Putin. Furthermore, Putin said he discussed the situation in the Middle East privately with Pezeshkian and described it as a cause for concern, while he expressed hope that the situation would develop positively and said Russia was meeting all its commitments on projects in Iran. Pezeshkian and Putin also discussed energy cooperation and trade, including expanding cooperation in the oil and gas sector, increasing economic exchanges and using their respective capabilities to advance joint projects.
• Iranian President Pezeshkian and Qatar's Emir discussed expanding political, economic and energy cooperation, alongside strengthening coordination among gas-exporting countries. Furthermore, Qatar's Foreign Ministry said the Qatari delegation's visit to Tehran was part of ongoing mediation efforts, while Doha said Iran needed to demonstrate good intentions, cease threats against Arab states and reopen the Strait of Hormuz for mediation efforts to succeed.
• Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Rezaei said the US had failed to provide security guarantees to regional countries, adding that security in West Asia must be ensured from within the region without foreign intervention, according to Tasnim. It was also reported that Rezaei met with Yemen's ambassador.
• Iran reportedly informed Hezbollah that it does not want the group to participate in any future war, according to Al Arabiya, citing sources close to Hezbollah.
• Iran's ambassador to South Korea said Tehran had proposed a seven-day plan to Washington and was preparing a response to US feedback, according to ISNA. He also stated that Iran did not want war and sought to reduce tensions through diplomacy, as well as noted that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen on the sixth day if Washington accepted the conditions and that negotiations would begin on the seventh day.
• An oil tanker caught fire after hitting a mine in the eastern Strait of Hormuz, according to IRIB. The broadcaster said the vessel had violated restrictions, switched off its tracking systems and attempted to transit a prohibited and unsafe area before striking sea mines, sustaining damage and catching fire.
• Yemen's Houthis said their forces repelled an advance by Saudi-backed forces from the southern direction of Bab al-Mandab.
• Houthi military spokesperson claimed Yemeni forces had struck Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery, which has a capacity of 550k BPD, with a ballistic missile earlier in the day, causing major fires at the facility.
• Explosions were reported in Riyadh and Yemen's Houthis claimed to have targeted Saudi Arabia's Defence Ministry with a ballistic missile.
• Saudi fighter jets attacked Bab al-Mandab, according to Tasnim.
• An explosion reported near the Mawwaq Al-Sulti base in Jordan, according to Fars.

• US stocks were bid and gains were led by the Nasdaq as AI names continued to recover from recent pressures, with the tech recovery partly supported as Anthropic's S-1 release on Monday and Meta's financing deal announcement continued to help ease some of the AI concerns during Tuesday's trade. Consumer Discretionary, Tech and Communication were the outperformers thanks to gains in heavyweight stocks, while Energy, Real Estate and Consumer Staples lagged. Furthermore, the Treasury curve saw some mild flattening as front-end yields rose and the long end was flat ahead of Wednesday's FOMC rate decision, while there was strong US economic data, including housing, durable goods and consumer confidence reports.
• SPX +0.60% at 7,723, NDX +1.29% at 29,651, DJI +0.03% at 52,378, RUT +1.16% at 2,819.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• US President Trump said the US would officially ban the term "AI" or "Artificial Intelligence", arguing that it was inaccurate.
• US Interior Secretary Burgum signed an order to support American ranchers, expand grazing and reduce red tape.
• US Treasury will sell USD 75bln in 17-week bills on October 28th, followed by USD 115bln in 4-week bills and USD 110bln in 8-week bills on October 29th, with all three auctions settling on November 3rd. Treasury also confirmed a buyback of up to USD 6bln in nominal coupon securities with maturities of 20–30 years.

DATA RECAP

• US Durable Goods Orders (Sep MM): 1.8% (exp. 1.5%, prev. 0.1%).
• US New Home Sales (Sep): 676K (exp. 651K, prev. 684K).
• US House Price Index (Aug MM): 0.3% (exp. 0.2%, prev. 0.2%).
• US S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price (Aug YY): 2.7% (exp. 2.5%, prev. 2.5%).
• US CB Consumer Confidence (Oct): 91.7 (exp. 81, prev. 84.2).
• US Dallas Fed Services Index (Oct): 4.0 (prev. -1.8).
• US Dallas Fed Services Revenues Index (Oct): 4.4 (prev. -0.9).
• US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index (Oct): -2 (exp. 0, prev. -2).
• US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Shipments Index (Oct): 0 (prev. -5).
• US Richmond Fed Services Revenues Index (Oct): 2 (prev. 0).
• US Building Permits Final (Sep): 1.398M (exp. 1.4M, prev. 1.403M).
• US Building Permits Final (Sep MM): -0.4% (exp. -0.2%, prev. -2.1%).
• US ADP Employment Change Weekly: 16.8K (prev. 18.5K).
• Atlanta Fed GDPNow Model (Q3): 3.4% (prev. 3.5%).

• USD gained, albeit with a mixed performance vs. G10 peers as participants await a deluge of upcoming key events, namely the FOMC decision and Warsh's following press conference, Mag-7 earnings, and PCE data. There were several data releases, but no tier-1 metrics, although figures broadly impressed as durable goods, consumer confidence, and new home sales all topped expectations, while Richmond Fed marginally disappointed with the headline unchanged at -2 vs an anticipated rise to 0.
• EUR gave up ground to the firmer buck, with participants also awaiting the ECB later in the week, while ING thinks EUR/USD probably retains some downside risks at these levels as the dominating USD leg may find a bit more support ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC.
• GBP trickled lower to test the 1.3300 level to the downside, while attention in the UK turns to Chancellor Healey delivering his first Budget on Wednesday.
• JPY weakened with USD/JPY advancing to just shy of the 158.00 handle amid the dollar strength and mostly positive risk appetite, while markets await the looming central bank announcements.

• T-notes settled marginally lower and the curve flattened after strong US economic data, fresh corporate issuance and as eyes turn to the FOMC.

• Oil prices were lower in choppy trade as participants await the next major de- or re-escalatory move.
• OPEC+ is expected to maintain December oil production targets at Sunday's meeting.
• US President Trump said he was travelling to a rally in Corpus Christi, Texas, where the US would receive 1 mln barrels of Venezuelan oil as a result of the military operation. He described it as the first shipment of billions of barrels to come and said the oil was being provided at no cost to US taxpayers, while he predicted that gasoline and diesel prices would soon fall. Trump also said he believed he would visit the tanker carrying Venezuelan oil in Texas and that Secretary of State Rubio might accompany him.
• US Energy Secretary Wright said the suspension of sanctions on Russia was temporary and that the US was ramping up LNG exports, while he added that Russia could not currently export diesel and that flows of refined products through the Strait of Hormuz had increased. Wright also commented that the Iran war has come at a cost and that the war with Iran is unfortunate timing.
• Russian President Putin said global gas prices had risen sharply but could also fall sharply, according to RIA. He called on gas-exporting countries to cooperate on optimising fuel supply routes, and stated that global gas demand would continue to grow and require increased supply. Furthermore, Putin proposed expanding consultations among gas exporters to assess risks and coordinate supply approaches, and said Russia was open to cooperation in the gas sector, according to TASS.
• Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak said a fourth tanker carrying Russian diesel was expected to arrive in the US on October 28th, according to Interfax. He also stated that Russia could redirect and sell all its gas supplies elsewhere if Europe rejected them, according to TASS. Furthermore, Novak said domestic refineries were bringing units back online quickly following maintenance and that Russia and the US could begin cooperating on Arctic LNG projects.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• US and Russia are discussing potential postwar business deals, including a JV for US oil majors off Sakhalin and resumed sales via the Druzhba pipeline, as part of wider talks to end the war in Ukraine, according to FT citing sources.
• Ukraine's Foreign Minister said a ceasefire in Oleshky could serve as a confidence-building measure in peace talks, adding that new momentum was needed in peace efforts.
• Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said the conflict in Ukraine was likely to continue and could escalate, while he added that the leaders of Finland and Norway had not put forward any new proposals.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Japanese government experts discussed revising three security-related documents, according to Kyodo, citing sources. The panel also said tax increases should not be ruled out if necessary.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• UK PM Burnham's government is drawing up plans to hold a major international investment summit in the north-east next spring, in which it will seek to unveil tens of billions of pounds of bilateral deals involving companies and investors, according to Sky News.
• UK is considering new requirements for data centre developers to invest in local communities, while the measure could be made public during the budget, according to the Financial Times, citing sources.
• Canada's planned associate membership of the EU is expected to be closer to full membership than any previous arrangement offered by the bloc, according to The Globe and Mail, citing sources.