Asian Market Update: Bank of Korea lowers rates for the first time in 15 months; Japan Machine Orders miss consensus, renew stimulus talks ***Economic Data***
- (KR) BANK OF KOREA (BOK) CUTS 7-DAY REPO RATE BY 25BPS TO 2.25% (AS EXPECTED); first rate cut in 15 months
- (JP) JAPAN JUN MACHINE ORDERS M/M: 8.8% V 15.3%E; Y/Y: -3.0% V 3.0%E; Marks first quarterly decline in 5 quarters; Japan govt cuts machine order assessment - (AU) AUSTRALIA AUG CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 3.1%V 3.8% PRIOR (4-month low) - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q2 RETAIL SALES EX-INFLATION Q/Q: 1.2% (1-yr high) V 1.0%E
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND JUL BUSINESS MANUFACTURING PMI: 53.0 (20th consecutive expansion) V 53.4 PRIOR
- (UK) UK JUL RICS HOUSE PRICE BALANCE: 49% (5-month low) V 51%E
***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)***- Nikkei225 +0.5%, S&P/ASX +0.6%, Kospi +0.2%, Shanghai Composite +0.1%, Hang Seng -0.1%, Sept S&P500 flat at 1,944
***Commodities/Fixed Income/Currencies***
- Dec gold -0.1% at $1,312, Sept crude oil -0.3% at $97.32/brl; Sept Copper -0.2% $3.11/lb
- JGB: (JP) Japan's MoF sells ¥2.45T in 0.2% (0.1% prior) 5-yr notes; Avg yield: 0.147% v0.147% prior; Bid to cover: 4.87x v 4.14x prior
- (CN) PBoC to drain CNY30B in 14-day repos (6th consecutive drain); Injects net CNY14B this week v drained CNY20B prior
- (JP) Japan investors bought net ¥232.6B in foreign bonds vs bought net ¥897.4B prior week; Foreign Investors sold net ¥584.9B in Japan Stocks last week (first net sales in 4 weeks) vs bought net ¥94.9B in prior week
- USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1545 v 6.1533 prior setting (2nd consecutive weaker setting)
***Market Focal Points/Key Themes***- Bank of Korea signalled it was adopting an easier bias last month with downgraded growth projections, and it has now followed up with its first rate cut in 15 months. In its accompanying statement, BOK said
negative output gap in local economy will narrow at a moderate pace, inflation will remain subdued, and improvement in domestic demand is not sufficient. BOK Gov Lee called the easing "preemptive" and also noted that one member was opposed to today's action. KRW actually strengthened after the decision/statement, with USD/KRW falling to a 2-week low below 1,025.
- Japan shrugged the largely anticipated contraction in Q2 GDP overnight, but the
reaction to a miss in June machine orders figures and govt downgrade of the sector was more pronounced. USD/JPY was up about 25pips amid analyst commentary that consistent shortfalls in leading indicators re-introduces speculation of a more proactive BOJ. Also of note in Japan, a Nikkei report noted PM Abe is planning a ¥4T fiscal stimulus focused on regional economies and tax breaks on housing-related gifts to prop up the property sector.
- In China, NDRC reported
H1 energy consumption per unit of GDP fell 4.2%, the biggest decline since 2009.Lenovo and China Mobile reported mixed results - Lenovo is up over 0.5% on rising profits and new record high market shares in PCs, while CHL is down over 0.5% on 1% slide in profit and a 450bp contraction in ebitda margins.
- Middle East situation remains precarious. In Cairo, Palestinian negotiators agreed to a 5-day truce with Israeli army but only after fresh exchange of gunfire between the two sides. In Iraq, a team of 20 US military advisers conducted a mission to assess situation of trapped Yazidis on Mt Sinjar. After the visit, Pentagon announced there were fewer Yazidis and they were in better condition than expected.
***Equities***US markets:
- IAG: Reports Q2 $0.02 v $0.02e, R$288.6M v $269Me, Maintains 2014 production guidance; +2.6% afterhours
- NTAP: Reports Q1 $0.60 v $0.57e, R$1.49B v $1.47Be; +1.2% afterhours
- NTES: Reports Q2 $1.48 v $1.42e, R$475.8M v $432Me; +0.1% afterhours
- CSCO: Reports Q4 $0.55 v $0.53e, R$12.4B v $12.1Be; Guides Q1 Rev flat to +1% v flat est. (implies R$12.1-12.2B v $12.0Be); to discuss a "limited restructuring" effort on today's call - conf call; -1.1% afterhours- AMGN: Announces top-line phase 3 results from Focus trial of Kyprolis in Multiple Myeloma; did not meet its primary endpoint; -1.8% afterhours
- VIPS: Reports Q2 $0.72 v $0.60e, R$829.4M v $792Me; -4.8% afterhours
- XONE: Reports Q2 -$0.32 v -$0.15e, R$11.2M v $12.1Me; -9.6% afterhours
- TKMR: Reports Q2 -$0.28 v -$0.21 y/y, R$1.8M v $2.8M y/y; -12.3% afterhoursNotable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Fairfax Media FXJ.AU +7.3% (FY14 results); STW Communications Group SGN.AU -8.2% (H1 results); SAIC Motor 600104.CN +3.6% (H1 results)
- Financials: Aiful Corp 8515.JP -12.3% (Q1 results); China Overseas Land 688.HK -2.5% (July contracted sales results)
- Technology: Hon Hai Precision Industries 2317.TW +2.8% (Q2 results); Lenovo 992.HK +0.5% (Q1 results); Tencent Holdings 700.HK -1.7% (Q2 results)
- Telecom: Telstra Corp TLS.AU +2.1% (FY14 results)