Better Bid To Start The Week

It would seem that the early uptick in e-minis/Asia-Pac equities is being linked to weekend comments from U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (who will chair the Senate Budget Committee). Sanders noted that the Democrats will push through the COVID-19 relief package via the reconciliation approach (using a simple majority, with Vice President Harris to cast the deciding vote in the case of a tie), if required. While President Biden has indicated his preference for bipartisan agreement re: the matter we have stressed that the Democrats would likely use reconciliation measures to push through this leg of fiscal support, and as such, only rely on the backing of all of the party's own Senators (eyes will fall on comments from some of the more moderate Democratic Senators in the coming days). Therefore, we would suggest that the comments do not present much of a surprise.

• Elsewhere, news that Hong Kong's partial lockdown (covering some of the district of Kowloon) only unearthed 13 positive COVID cases and has now been relaxed (as scheduled) will likely be helping risk appetite.
• We should also flag that earnings from U.S. tech giants Apple and & Facebook headline the weekly earnings slate.