REAL ESTATE: Aedifica & Cofinimmo - cautious on any CoC talk

• Stocks have been climbing off mid-morning lows, trading mixed amid month-end rebalancing while markets remain on edge ahead of ahead of this week's "Liberation Day" Trump tariff rollout on April 2. Currently, the DJIA trades up 90.33 points (0.22%) at 41677.23, S&P E-Minis down 27 points (-0.48%) at 5596, Nasdaq down 263 points (-1.5%) at 17059.89.
• Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology sectors underperformed in the first half, a mix of auto and travel shares weighing on the former: Tesla -5.84%, Royal Caribbean Cruises -3.70%, Carnival Corp -3.42%, Norwegian Cruise Line -3.13%, while MGM Resorts Int -3.69%, Caesars Entertainment -4.32% and Expedia Group -3.25%.
• Semiconductor makers weighed on the Tech sector: NVIDIA -4.62%, Broadcom -4.25%, Micron Technology -3.81%, Monolithic Power Systems -2.60% and ON Semiconductor -2.47%.
• On the positive side, Energy and Consumer Staples related sectors outperformed in the first half, oil and gas refiners led gainers as crude rallied (WTI +1.69 at 71.05): ConocoPhillips +2.73%, Diamondback Energy +2.18%, Devon Energy +2.04%, EOG Resources +1.93% and Occidental Petroleum +1.66%.
• Meanwhile, food stocks buoyed the Consumer Staples sector with Tyson Foods +2.63%, J M Smucker +2.42% and Hormel Foods +2.32%.

Reuters reporting, per Chinese state media, that China, Japan, and South Korea have reached “consensus" that the three will "jointly respond to the US tariffs.” All three have lobbied the Trump administration for exceptions from Trump's metals and auto tariffs without success. 

• The report notes that Tokyo and Seoul are, “seeking to import semiconductor raw materials from China," and China is "interested in purchasing chip products from Japan, South Korea”.
• Finbarr Bermingham at SCMP cautions that while the joint statement mentions cooperation on export controls and chips, "There's no detail on there about a joint response to Trump's reciprocal tariffs."
• The Korean Economic Daily noted yesterday that a meeting of trade ministers, “marked the first time that the economic ministers of the three countries sat down to discuss policy cooperation since December 2019 in Beijing."
• South Korea’s trade ministry said in a statement: “The three countries agreed to closely cooperate toward a comprehensive and high-level [Free Trade Agreement] among South Korea, Japan and China, as well as on issues related to multilateral trade systems...”
• Although analysts cited by KED “expressed skepticism” and raised “concerns that working with China may not support trade negotiations with the Trump administration” the meeting hints at a dramatically altered Indo-Pacific multilateral outlook in response to Trump's trade agenda.
• The Biden administration identified the trilateral relationship with Tokyo and Seoul as the linchpin of Washington’s China strategy in the region. Chatham House notes that the new Trump administration’s approach “throws doubt on this important US partnership.”   

• US TSY 13W AUCTION: NON-COMP BIDS $1.956 BLN FROM $76.000 BLN TOTAL