Weekend News Roundup - Newsquawk Asia-Pac Market Open

• US stocks were bid on Friday during the shortened day of trade, with equity futures modestly higher from levels seen before the CME outage in the morning, while gains were broad-based, with the vast majority of sectors closing green, although healthcare bucked the trend and was pressured by Eli Lilly's (LLY) weakness following the November rally. Furthermore, T-notes were lower across the curve as stocks moved higher, with little macro information to digest on account of Thanksgiving on Thursday.
• US President Trump said he knows who he will pick as the next Fed chair.
• Chinese official Manufacturing PMI remained in contraction territory at 49.2 (exp. 49.2), while Non-Manufacturing PMI disappointed at 49.5 (exp. 50.0).
• OPEC+ agreed to keep group-wide oil output unchanged for Q1 2026, while it stated that participating countries approved the mechanism developed by the secretariat to assess participating countries’ maximum sustainable production capacity.
• Looking ahead, highlights include Japanese Capital Spending, South Korean Trade Data, Regional PMIs, Comments from BoJ Governor Ueda.

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LOOKING AHEAD

• Highlights include Japanese Capital Spending, South Korean Trade Data, Regional PMIs, Comments from BoJ Governor Ueda.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

US TRADE

• US stocks were bid on Friday during the shortened day of trade, with equity futures modestly higher from levels seen before the CME outage in the morning, while gains were broad-based, with the vast majority of sectors closing green, although healthcare bucked the trend and was pressured by Eli Lilly's (LLY) weakness following the November rally. Furthermore, T-notes were lower across the curve as stocks moved higher, with little macro information to digest on account of Thanksgiving on Thursday.
• SPX +0.54% at 6,849, NDX +0.78% at 25,435, DJI +0.61% at 47,716, RUT +0.58% at 2,500.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• China was reported on Friday to have banned imports of pigs, wild boars and related products from Spain's Barcelona province, according to a China Customs document. In relevant news, Mexico’s Agriculture Ministry also suspended pork product imports from Spain due to a swine fever outbreak.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• US President Trump said on Friday he is cancelling all executive orders signed by former President Biden using autopen and stated that any document signed by Biden with autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated and of no further force or effect. Furthermore, Trump stated that Biden was not involved in the autopen process and if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.
• US President Trump said he knows who he will pick as the next Fed chair.
• White House Economic Adviser Hassett said he will be happy to serve if US President Trump picks him as Fed chair.
• US State Department announced a pause on visa issuances for Afghan passport holders, and the US immigration service said it will halt all asylum decisions, while the US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director said USCIS halted all asylum decisions until they can ensure that every migrant is vetted and screened to the maximum degree.
• US Transportation Secretary Duffy said they have been in close contact with Airbus (AIR FP) about the software update recall for the A320 and the airlines that use them, as well as noted that travellers should not expect any major disruptions. It was also reported that Airbus was revising down the number of jets affected by the most time-consuming A320 repairs, while American Airlines said planes impacted by the Airbus glitch have been fixed.
• Mastercard SpendingPulse noted that US retail spending on Black Friday rose 4.1% Y/Y and ecommerce spending rose 10.4% Y/Y, while Adobe Analytics noted that consumer spending rose 9.1% Y/Y to a record USD 11.7bln on Black Friday.
• CyrusOne said it restored stable and secure operations at its Chicago 1 data centre in Aurora, Illinois.

COMMODITIES

• OPEC+ agreed to keep group-wide oil output unchanged for Q1 2026, while it stated that participating countries approved the mechanism developed by the secretariat to assess participating countries’ maximum sustainable production capacity. Furthermore, it announced that the 41st OPEC and Non-OPEC minesterial meeting will be held on 7th June 2026.
• Gas exports from Iraq's Khor Mor gas field resumed just days after a drone attack.

GEOPOLITICAL

MIDDLE EAST

• Israeli PM Netanyahu submitted a letter to President Herzog, while Netanyahu said in a video statement addressing the pardon request that his personal interest was to complete the legal process until the end, while he added that the military and national reality, and national interest, demand otherwise, and that ending the trial immediately would advance much-needed national reconciliation.
• Hezbollah’s leader said on Friday in response to Israel's killing of its military chief that the group has a right to respond and will set a time for it, while he added that Lebanon's government should prepare a plan to confront Israel.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi held talks with Turkey regarding the nuclear issue and Israel, while he also held a meeting with the Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs in Tehran.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• Ukrainian President Zelensky said a delegation headed by the security council chief travelled to the US for talks, while it was also reported that Zelensky is to visit French President Macron in Paris on Monday. Furthermore, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister said there was a good start to US peace talks with a warm atmosphere conducive to a potential progressive outcome.
• Ukraine’s military hit Russia’s Afipsky oil refinery, while it was also reported that Ukrainian sea drones struck two Gambia-flagged tankers off the Turkish coast on Friday, which were said to be part of a Russian shadow fleet used to bypass Western sanctions.
• Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russian forces carried out a massive strike on Ukrainian military-industrial and energy facilities.
• Russia’s Foreign Minister said regarding the attack on the CPC Black Sea terminal that the civilian energy infrastructure that had been attacked plays an important role in ensuring global energy security and has never been subject to any restrictions or limitations, while they strongly condemn the ‘terrorist attacks’ on CPC and oil tankers.
• NATO is reportedly preparing for the scenario of confronting Russia with limited US support, according to a report by Bloomberg citing a wargame in Transylvania that showed European soldiers defending the continent largely without US support as President Trump reduces US deployments in Europe.

OTHER

• US President Trump declared on Truth Social that the airspace above Venezuela is closed. It was separately reported that President Trump held a call with Venezuelan President Maduro, while Trump also commented that Defense Secretary Hegseth told him that he did not order a second boat strike.
• US bipartisan lawmakers raised alarms on Sunday that Defense Secretary Hegseth may have committed a war crime following a report that he ordered a follow-on attack to kill survivors of a boat strike in September, according to POLITICO.
• Venezuela said it rejects US President Trump’s “hostile, unilateral and arbitrary” post about Venezuela’s airspace and noted that the statement shows “colonial pretentions” towards Latin America, while it added that Venezuela demands respect for airspace and will not accept foreign orders or threats.
• China’s Coast Guard carried out law enforcement inspections around the Scarborough Shoal, while the report noted that the Chinese military’s Southern Theatre Command organised combat readiness patrols in the ‘territorial’ waters and airspace of the Scarborough Shoal and surrounding areas on November 29th, according to Xinhua.

GLOBAL NEWS

• Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposal for a 50% inheritance tax for the super-rich, according to FT.
• South African President Ramaphosa dismissed US President Trump's threat to exclude the country from next year's G20 summit and reaffirmed South Africa's status as a founding member of the group, according to Reuters.

ASIA-PAC

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• China’s financial regulator guides banks and insurers to fully provide financial support services related to the Hong Kong fire and said insurance institutions should promptly handle claims and other procedures for disaster-affected customers, while it added that banks should strengthen financial credit support and actively assist in disaster reconstruction.
• Japanese Finance Minister Katayama said it is “clear” that volatile swings in the FX market and the rapid weakening of the yen aren’t based on fundamentals.
• Indonesia said at least 303 people died in three provinces after severe rains caused floods and landslides.

DATA RECAP

• Chinese NBS Manufacturing PMI (Nov) 49.2 vs. Exp. 49.2 (Prev. 49.0)
• Chinese NBS Non-Manufacturing PMI (Nov) 49.5 vs Exp. 50.0 (Prev. 50.1)
• Chinese NBS Composite PMI 49.7 (Prev. 50.0)

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• UK PM Starmer and Chancellor Reeves have been accused of misleading the Cabinet by using claims that there was a black hole in the public finances to justify tax rises during the run-up to the Budget, according to The Times’s Swinford. It was separately reported by Bloomberg that Reeves denied lying about UK finances pre-Budget, while FT reported that PM Starmer is to defend the Budget after Reeves was accused of misleading the public.
• ECB President Lagarde said on Friday that interest rates are at the right level and the situation is good, while she is optimistic about the situation in France.
• S&P affirmed Latvia at A; Outlook Stable and affirmed Lithuania at A; Outlook Stable.