Safe haven search is on Friday as investors keep rotating

Hello, this is Leonie Kidd with today’s edition of Morning Squawk.

There has been a dizzying amount of rotation for investors this week.

But the striking of key levels across equity and bond markets could signal a more significant shift into safe-haven assets. 

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

It’s been a whiplash week for technology stocks, but Thursday’s sell-off spooked investors enough to seek refuge in safe havens. 

Steep declines across the tech space, led by Meta and the chip sector, saw Nasdaq log its worst day since June. 

It triggered the biggest one-day decline in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield since March 2023, driving the level below 5% for the first time in a month. 

• Analysis: market participants told CNBC it’s the first time in a while that Treasurys are being seen as a safe haven, citing the concern over AI-related bond issuance.

The market trend is extending into Asia, with Japanese sovereign bonds and the Yen surging amid demand for haven assets.

• Why it matters: economic warning signs are still flashing. Japanese core inflation hit its highest level this year, which could prompt the Bank of Japan to consider another rate hike. 

Volvo Car shares plunged as much as 30% in Stockholm after the Swedish carmaker said weakness in both the U.S. and Chinese markets led to a quarterly loss. 

• The CEO, Håkan Samuelsson, addressed the terrible quarter, telling Squawk Box Europe that “selling global cars, developed in Europe, in China will not work.”  

Shares in South Korea’s SKHynix rebounded sharply during the Asian session after the chipmaker scrapped its IPO plans for its U.S. unit Solidigm. 

• eToro analyst Josh Gilbert told CNBC it removes a risk factor around the stock and preserves the unit’s value within the company. 

Apple has been bucking the tech rout with gains that could put it on track to end the week in the green. This comes after the stock hit a fresh high during Thursday’s session. 

Shares could get more of a boost today as day-one walk-in sales of the $2000 iPhone Duo get underway worldwide. 

• CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos will be at Apple’s Fifth Avenue flagship store, tracking the lines. Find out why the Duo is already selling for as little as $800 here.

CNBC has learnt that OpenAI is close to finalizing a funding round that could top $30 billion, valuing the AI giant at $1.25 trillion. 

CNBC’s Kate Rooney and Ashley Capoot spoke to sources who said investors from the United Arab Emirates are leading the round, which is being seen as an “opportunist” bridge ahead of a potential IPO. 

• Why it matters: the Financial Times reports that at this valuation, it marks another trim down from the most recent $1.4 trillion price tag seen by some investors. 

President Donald Trump asked Elon Musk to restore the full military-grade version of SpaceX’s Starlink system for use in Ukraine. That’s according to the Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials. 

Local reports from Kyiv overnight suggested that there was an instant operational impact following the move. 

• Why it matters: the move to throttle Ukraine’s access to Starlink has prompted widespread bipartisan criticism. With the midterms just a week and a half away, Russia remains a key campaign topic. 

Wealthy Chinese are moving their money to American banks 

Wealthy Chinese rattled by Beijing’s widening hunt for overseas wealth are turning to a once-familiar refuge for their money: the U.S. 

Private bankers and lawyers who work with Chinese clients say inquiries about opening U.S. bank accounts have grown in the months after Beijing imposed retroactive taxes on offshore wealth in July, moving assets previously stored in Singapore or Hong Kong there to stay further away from Beijing’s reach.

— CNBC’s Fred Imbert, Lim Hui Yie, Kate Rooney, Ashley Capoot and Anniek Bao contributed to this report.

John Melloy edited this edition.