Daily Market Briefing, Asia Pacific

• Fading concerns. Lower US jobless claims eased US recession fears. US equities surged. Cyclical currencies like the AUD outperformed.• RBA hawks. ‘Hawkish’ rhetoric from RBA Gov. Bullock also supported the AUD. The RBA is diverging from the pack. We think this is AUD positive.• Event radar. Limited data today. Several releases next week including US CPI/retail sales, China data, RBNZ meeting, & AU jobs/wages. Market fears have continued to fade with cyclical assets enjoying a positive 24hrs. Concerns a US recession is around the corner eased further after the latest read on initial jobless claims fell to a multi-week...

• Market rebound. Partial reversal in risk sentiment. US equities & bond yields rose overnight. USD index ticked up, while the AUD outperformed.• RBA hold. No change in rates from the RBA. But another hike was considered. Rate cuts still some time away. Policy divergence should be AUD supportive. A sense of calm has returned to markets with a partial reversal of the burst of risk aversion coming through over the past 24hrs. The Japanese Nikkei rebounded sharply with the index up over ~10% yesterday. US equities rose overnight, albeit more modestly (S&P500 +1%), with the VIX volatility index dropping...