Asia Market Quick Take – 28 April, 2026

Key points:

• Macro: Fed seen holding rates; focus shifts to Kevin Warsh’s chair confirmation
• Equities: Nvidia hits record above 5T valuation; CATL prices 5B Hong Kong offer at HK$628.20
• FX: Dollar softens as oil, energy FX gain; markets eye busy central-bank week
• Commodities: Oil jumps on Iran risks; silver, copper slip amid rate, growth concerns
• Fixed income: Treasury yields climb to multi-week highs; five-year auction demand slightly soft

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Disclaimer: Past performance does not indicate future performance.

Macro:

• The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.5%-3.75% at its policy meeting on Tuesday, with the central bank gathering overshadowed by political drama surrounding the leadership handover. A Justice Department decision last week to drop a controversial criminal investigation of the Fed has cleared the way for the confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to replace Jerome Powell as Fed chair.
• US-Iran peace talks remain at an impasse, with efforts to resume negotiations stalled. Iran reportedly offered the US a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, which the White House confirmed is being discussed by President Trump's national security team. The ongoing blockade has pushed Brent crude futures above $108 per barrel.
• A packed week of central bank rate decisions is underway, with the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Bank of England, and Bank of Canada all scheduled to set interest rates this week. This marks a rare week in which every Group of Seven central bank convenes.

Equities:

• US - The S&P 500 Index ticked 0.1% higher to 7,173.91 on Monday, holding at record highs ahead of a raft of megacap earnings that will test whether April's rally is sustainable. The Nasdaq 100 was little changed while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%. Nvidia closed at a record high, topping the $5 trillion market capitalization mark and extending its 2026 advance to 16%. Arm Holdings led Nasdaq-100 decliners, falling 8% on concerns it may not play a role in a potential Qualcomm-OpenAI chip venture. In after-hours trading, Bed Bath & Beyond soared 30% after reporting first-quarter net revenue that beat analyst estimates. Cadence Design Systems rose 0.5% after reporting first-quarter results that beat expectations but gave a mixed full-year outlook. Domino's Pizza fell nearly 9%to $335.51 after the company reported results that missed consensus estimates on both revenue and earnings.
• EU - The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.3% to 608.84, dropping to the lowest closing level since April 7 after retreating from session highs. ASML Holding contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 3.0%, while Verisure had the largest drop, falling 5.9%. The DAX fell 0.2% to 24,083.53 in Frankfurt, dropping for the sixth consecutive day to the lowest closing level since April 15, with Siemens Energy having the largest drop at 5.4%. The FTSE 100 fell 0.6% to 10,321.09 in London, also dropping for the sixth day to the lowest closing level since March 31, with Shell contributing the most to the decline. The Euro Stoxx 50 Index ended 0.39% lower at 5,860.32, down for six consecutive trading days.
• Asia - Asian stocks rose on Monday after a report said Iran offered the US a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, buoying sentiment. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained as much as 1.7%, the most since April 14. South Korea's Kospi Index rose 2.2% to 6,615.03, with SK Hynix contributing the most to the index gain by increasing 5.7% and SK Securities having the largest increase, rising 30.0%. Taiwan's Taiex index was among the best performers in the region, led by a surge in TSMC to a record. The Straits Times Index in Singapore fell 0.6% to 4,892.73, dropping for the fourth day to the lowest closing level since March 31, with Seatrium having the largest drop at 2.9%. The Hang Seng and Nikkei markets showed mixed performance, with investor interest in Chinese tech ADRs taking a hit after Beijing ordered Meta to unwind its $2 billion purchase of AI startup Manus.CATL priced its $5 billion Hong Kong share placement at HK$628.20 per share, the bottom of the marketed range and a 7% discount to its last close.

Earnings this week:

• Tuesday: Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Visa, BYD
• Wednesday: AbbVie, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Microsoft, Qualcomm, ICBC, Agricultural Bank of China, PetroChina, China Construction Bank, Bank of China
• Thursday: Samsung Electronics Merck, ConocoPhillips, Mastercard, Caterpillar, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Apple, Tokyo Electron, DBS Group
• Friday: Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Itochu, ANZ, Marubeni

FX:

• USD slipped and oil prices rose after efforts to restart US-Iran peace talks stalled, lifting energy- and commodity-linked currencies such as the NZD, AUDand NOK. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell about 0.1% as traders focused on upcoming policy decisions from the BOJ, Fed, BoC, ECB and BOE. 
• EURUSD was little changed around 1.1723, with euro-area companies expecting higher input costs and selling prices due to the Iran conflict, adding to the ECB’s inflation concerns, while GBPUSD inched higher.
• USDJPY traded near 159.40 amid expectations the BOJ will keep rates unchanged but strike a hawkish tone, which some analysts say could push the pair above 160. 
• CAD strengthened after Canada announced its first sovereign wealth fund, seeded with C$25 billion for infrastructure investment.

Commodities:

• Oil futures climbed again on Monday, with Brent crude rising over 2% to $108 per barrel as the ongoing US-Iran standoff and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz fueled concerns that Iran's crude storage is nearing capacity, potentially forcing output cuts. Iran may have to start curbing oil production in as soon as two weeks if the US blockade continues, according to Société Générale.
• Silver futures fell for the fourth time in six sessions, with Comex silver settling 1.81% lower at $75.003 per troy ounce, the lowest settlement value since April 7. Silver futures, which are particularly sensitive to interest rates, pared gains for the year to date to 6.9% amid anxiety about central bank actions in response to energy inflation.
• Copper prices edged lower, with LME 3-month copper closing $96 lower at $13,213 a ton and Comex copper settling 0.09% lower at $6.0180 per pound. Despite near-term weakness, copper is expected to gain even as global growth fears persist, supported by tariff-driven stockpiling in the US, fragile mine supply, and firmer Chinese demand.

Fixed income:

• US Treasury yields rose across the curve on Monday, with the 10-year yield climbing to 4.335%, up 2.7 basis points and reaching the highest level since early April. The 30-year yield rose to 4.942%, posting the largest one-day gain since April 16. Yields are staying on pace for their tightest monthly range since late 2020.
• The Treasury's $70 billion auction of five-year notes was awarded at 3.955% versus the 3.950% when-issued yield at the bidding deadline, a sign demand fell slightly short of expectations. The bid-to-cover ratio was 2.33, with 72.3% awarded to indirect bidders and 12.7% to primary dealers. 

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