Asia Market Quick Take – 13 October, 2026

Key points:

• Macro: Trump considers joining Saudi in retaliation to Houthis
• Equities: S&P 500 closed almost flat; Memory names fell on CXMT chip breakthrough
• FX: Dollar strengthens on oil and Fed; EUR hits new 2026 and 52-week lows
• Commodities: Brent-WTI spread ~$13, double norms, on record shipping costs
• Fixed income: Treasury futures flat; volume 20% of average

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Disclaimer: Past performance does not indicate future performance.

Macro:

• The Trump administration faces pressure to aid Saudi Arabia after deadly Houthi strikes on Riyadh’s airport. Zelenskyy vows continued strikes on Russia as it targets Ukraine’s energy grid, defying Trump’s “energy ceasefire,” while Kushner and Witkoff say allowing Russian diesel exports aims to lure Moscow back to talks.
• Japan’s producer prices rose 6.8% year-on-year in September 2026, the weakest since May and below the expected 7.6%, signaling easing but still high inflation. Month-on-month, prices fell 0.3% for a second straight month, versus forecasts for a 0.5% rise.
• UK like-for-like retail sales rose 1.0% year-on-year in September 2026, above forecasts and August’s 0.5%. Total sales grew 1.3%, below the 1.5% 12‑month average. Food sales rose 2.5% and non-food 0.3%. Consumer spending increased 2.0%, with essential spending up 2.5% (fuel +17.3%) and non-essential up 1.8%. Financial confidence reached 67%, though 68% were worried about the budget and 30% cut non-essential spending.
• China’s vehicle sales fell 8.4% year-on-year to 2.956 million in September 2026, with passenger cars down 9.5% and commercial vehicles up 0.2%. NEV sales rose 13.6% to 1.823 million, 61.6% of total sales. Over January–September, total sales fell 4.5% while NEVs rose 11.1% to 12.47 million (53.6% of new sales). Month-on-month, total sales rose 9% in September.
• Japan’s bank lending rose 5.3% year-on-year in September 2026, unchanged from August and below the 5.5% forecast, with total loans at JPY 681.97 trillion. Major and regional banks’ lending grew 5.7%, shinkin banks 2.0%, while foreign-bank lending slowed to 14.5% from 25.6%.
• RBA minutes say it lifted the cash rate to 4.6% two weeks ago as upside inflation risks materialized and delays could be costly, noting the Middle East conflict will heavily shape the outlook and that it stands ready to raise rates further if needed.

Equities: 

• US — S&P 500 closed Monday essentially flat at 7,807.24 (-0.1%), while the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.7% and the Dow edged up 0.4%. A selloff in chipmakers was the dominant theme — the Philadelphia SOX index fell 2.7% — after Chinese rival CXMT reported progress on a competing memory chip design, resulting in Micron falling nearly 4% while SanDisk dropped 6%. US-listed SK Hynix each dropped ~4%. Meta gained 3.4% on its new Muse AI models while eBay rallied 4% after Morgan Stanley named it a top pick. In after-hours, FormFactor rose 5% after announcing a $300M technology collaboration with Teradyne. Major bank earnings kick off today with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all reporting before the bell.
• EU — European equities rebounded on Monday, with the Stoxx 600 rising 0.6% to 635.65 and the FTSE 100 gaining 1.0% to 10,656. The DAX added 0.8% to 25,277. Banks led the recovery, bouncing after losing 8% over the prior two weeks amid French fiscal concerns. HSBC was the top contributor to both the FTSE 100 and Stoxx 600, rising 2.3%. Hensoldt surged 5.8% and Rheinmetall gained 2.5%. Telecoms and tech lagged. The pan-European benchmark remains below its August record highs.
• Asia — Asian equities are trading lower this morning, tracking Monday's US chip losses. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is down 0.3%. South Korea's Kospi is the regional underperformer, falling over 3% — SK Hynix dropped nearly 4% after the CXMT news, and the Kospi closed right on its 200-day moving average on Monday. The Hang Seng is under pressure, with Man Wah Holdings flagging a profit warning of ~70–90% decline in 1H 2026 profit year-on-year. Singapore's STI has slid 6.6% from its recent peak, dragged by DBS, OCBC, and UOB on fears of earnings downgrades from rising long-end yields. Australia's ASX 200 is down 0.1% to 8,770, with mining and tech shares the main drag. The Nikkei is also softer as the yen hovers near 158.6 and JGBs are expected to fall on return from a three-day weekend.

Earnings this week:

• Tuesday: Aeon, JPMorgan Chase, UnitedHealth Group, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Johnson & Johnson, Domino's Pizza
• Wednesday: ASML, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, State Street
• Thursday: Alcoa, Charles Schwab, Interactive Brokers, Prologis, Bank of New York Mellon, US Bancorp, PNC Financial, TSMC