ASIA STOCKS: Friday Afternoon Boost on China Press Conference.

Yen losses have dominated G10 trade so far in Wednesday trade. The yen losing nearly 0.80% against the dollar, USD/JPY last near 153.65/70. Other moves have been much more modest in the G10 space. Outside of some modest NZD gains, most pairs sit close to flat. The BBDXY has ticked up on account of yen weakness, the USD index last around 1301.50.

• Yen weakness has likely been driven by the firmer core yield backdrop. These trends have continued in Asia Pac markets today, although US Tsy yield gains are not much beyond 1bps at this stage. US-JP 10yr government bond yield differentials also haven't ticked higher so far today.
• Onshore Japan markets have returned today, so there may also be some catch USD demand in play. BoJ Governor Ueda appeared before parliament earlier, noting there is a risk that higher food inflation impacts inflation expectations more broadly. Ueda reiterated that further hikes will depend on the economy and price developments.
• Current USD/JPY post levels are close to option expiry levels for NY cut later on Wednesday (Y153.50-70($1.7bln). The 50-day EMA resistance point rests above 154.00.
• AUD/USD is little changed last near 0.6300, close to its 50-day EMA resistance zone. Hong Kong equities are higher, although trends elsewhere (including in China) are more mixed. NZD/USD is marginally higher at 0.5660. NZD/JPY has tested above 87.00, but hasn't been able to sustain such gains so far. AUD/JPY is already above this resistance point.
• Looking ahead, Fed Chair Powell testifies to the House financial services committee and the Fed’s Bostic and Waller also speak. January US CPI prints and Bloomberg consensus is expecting no change in the headline at 2.9% but for core to ease 0.1pp to 3.1%. January budget and real earnings data are also out. The ECB’s Elderson speaks at an MNI Connect event and BoE’s Greene appears.

• Tsys futures are trading slightly lower today, with all contracts trading below Tuesday's lows. There hasn't been much in the way of headlines, however Trump did speak earlier, which saw tsys slip slightly. TU is -00 5/8 at 102-21 3/4, while TY is -03 at 108-27+, volumes have picked up over the past hour or so since Trump spoke, with a pick up in selling across the FV & TY contracts
• Key levels to watch for TY are initial support at 108-20+ (Feb 4 low), below here 108-06 (Jan 23 lows), while to the upside, initial resistance isn't until 110-00 (Feb 7 high)
• Cash tsys yields are trading 1bps to 1.5bps cheaper today, the 2yr is +1.3bps at 4.296%, while the 10yr is +1.2bps at 4.547%. The 2s01s is unchanged at 24.737, after briefly hitting ytd lows of 15.889 on Friday, vs ytd highs of 42.887.
• Trump spoke at the White House, emphasizing his desire to end the war in Ukraine and expressing appreciation for Russia’s release of hostage Marc Fogel. He declined to confirm if he spoke with Putin but hinted that another release is expected tomorrow. Trump also suggested there is "goodwill" regarding the war and, when asked about reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, responded, "We'll see."
• MNI - US CPI Preview: Consensus sees core CPI inflation accelerating to a seasonally adjusted 0.3% M/M (unrounded 0.29%) in
  January after what was, for now, seen as a slightly softer than expected 0.225% M/M in December ( Here )

• Ahead of CPI later today, fed-dated OIS is pricing in about 35bps of cuts this year, with the first full 25bps cut priced for September.

ACGBs (YM -6.0 & XM -8.0) are cheaper and near the Sydney session’s worst levels.

• “The Australian economy is slowly improving and millions of mortgage holders will finally feel their disposable incomes rise when the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates next week, as widely expected, the country’s largest bank said as it posted a bumper $5.13 billion half-year profit.” (per SMH via BBG)
• Cash US tsys are 1-2bps cheaper in today’s Asia-Pac session after yesterday’s modest sell-off. The focus is on key US CPI inflation data today at 0830ET.
• Cash ACGBs are 6-8bps cheaper with the AU-US 10-year yield differential at -9bps.
• Swap rates are 5-8bps higher, with the 3s10s curve steeper.
• The bills strip is -2 to -6 across contracts.
• Tomorrow, the local calendar will see Consumer Inflation Expectations. This is the last data release before the RBA policy Decision next Tuesday.
• RBA-dated OIS pricing is 1–6bps firmer across meetings today, led by late 2025 contracts.  More notably, OIS pricing is now mixed compared to pre-Q4 CPI levels on 24 January, with the Aug-25 meeting firming by 10bps over the past week.
• A 25bp rate cut in April remains fully priced (119%), while the probability of a February cut stands at 84% (based on an effective cash rate of 4.34%).