The ups and downs of US debt limits talks continued over the weekend, swinging from optimism to pessimism and back again and points in between. During the session here since FX, Globex and Asian markets have been trading the arrow has moved towards optimism. There have been talks between staff of both sides at the White House on Sunday and the groundwork has been laid for those to continue and for the White House to host a meeting between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday. The ‘Risk’ trade has inched a little higher during the session here.

From China today we saw the People’s Bank of China maintain its benchmark lending rates, the Loan Prime Rates (LPRs), at the same level for the ninth consecutive month in line with market forecasts. China's five-year LPR remained at 4.30% and its one-year LPR was held at 3.65%.

You’ll note the other news of significance from China in the points above, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said U.S. memory chip manufacturer Micron Technology products had failed its network security review. It has banned products made by Micron from use in key infrastructure. The US Commerce Dept. has objected.

Asian equity markets:

  • Japan’s Nikkei 225 +0.1%

  • China’s Shanghai Composite +0.5%

  • Hong Kong’s Hang Seng +1.6% Chip stocks gained on the Micron ban

  • South Korea’s KOSPI +0.9%

  • Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 -0.3%

China's yuan was not a lot changed on the session after Friday's move:

usdcnh wrap chart 22 May 2023