Asian Market Update: PBoC slows liquidity injections again; Australia trade remains in deficit
***Observations/Insights*** - GGP (not Facebook, as speculated) replaces Molex in SP500; GGP rises 3.5%, Facebook falls 1.5% in extended session. - US financial press reported that China Mobile and Apple reached a final agreement on iPhone distribution before separate reports indicated talks are still ongoing with nothing definitive to announce. - Australia terms of trade were in deficit for the 4th consecutive month in October; Exports to China rose 5% m/m and exports of coal were up 6.8%, while iron ore exports were revised down by about 3% for the prior month and fell again 0.8% in October. - PBoC skips a Thursday money market operation for the first time in 3 weeks; Also marks the biggest net drain of liquidity in 7 weeks.
***Economic Data*** - (AU) AUSTRALIA OCT TRADE BALANCE (A$): -529M V -350ME (4th consecutive deficit) - (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.18T in 0.6% (0.6% prior) 10-yr notes; Avg yield: 0.648% v 0.605% prior; Bid to cover: 4.01x v 3.69x prior - (KR) SOUTH KOREA Q3 FINAL GDP Q/Q: 1.1% (2-year high) V 1.1% PRELIM; Y/Y: 3.3% V 3.3% PRELIM - (PH) PHILIPPINES NOV CPI M/M: 0.4% V 0.4%E; Y/Y: 3.3% V 3.5%E; CPI CORE Y/Y: 2.8% V 2.5% PRIOR - (TW) TAIWAN NOV CPI Y/Y: 0.7% V 1.0%E PRIOR; WPI Y/Y: -1.0% V -0.9%E PRIOR
***Fixed Income/Commodities/Currencies*** - (CN) PBoC won't conduct open market operations (OMO) in today's session; Drains net CNY47B this week v injected 17B prior (first net drain in three weeks, biggest drain in 7-weeks) - (CN) Daily Shibor fixings: O/N: 3.7030 % v 3.7235% prior (3rd consecutive decline); 1-week: 4.5580 % v 4.5770% prior (2nd consecutive decline) - GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 2.7 tonnes to 838.7 tonnes (lowest since Jan 2009)
- USD majors are rangebound in the Asian session despite the selloff in the US Treasury market on Wednesday following better than expected ADP jobs, with volatility subsiding going into the ECB/BOE policy decisions on Thursday and non-farm payrolls on Friday. EUR/USD traded some 15pips on both sides of the 1.36 handle, GBP/USD was listless around $1.6380, and USD/JPY was in a 30pip range around ¥102.20. AUD/USD sold off briefly following Australia trade data, falling below $0.9020 before a bounce back to $0.9040. AUD has been under overall pressure for the past 2 weeks, culminating with a brief test below the $0.90 figure in the US hours.
***Speakers/Political/In the Papers*** - (CN) China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC): Looking to ease burden for smaller companies - Chinese press - (CN) Smog reported in Central and Eastern China for 3rd consecutive day - Chinese press - (CN) China Qinhuangdao coal price continues to rise to CNY590-600/t (highest level since early July)
- (JP) Japan govt expects stimulus to raise real GDP by 1ppt and create 250K jobs - financial press - (JP) Japan Coast Guard sighted 3 China vessles near disputed island territory (5th consecutive day) - Kyodo News - (JP) Moody's: Japanese corporates 2014 outlook stable; Moody's expects Japan's GDP to grow by 1%-2% in 2014, fuelled by structural reforms dubbed Abenomics. Economic optimism has led to higher corporate earnings and cash flows, which have in turn reduced financial leverage. - (JP) Japan to list nuclear power as important energy source - Japanese press - (JP) Housing industry execs said to be less pessimistic over the negative impact of rising sales tax than the last time consumption tax went up in 1997 - Nikkei
- (AU) Australia PM Abbott: South Korea and Australia have reached an agreement on free trade deal (FTA) - addressing parliament - (AU) Moody's: Australia non-financial corporate outlook stable in 2014; Expects 2014 GDP at 2.0-3.0%, 2015 GDP at 2.5-3.5%
- (PH) Philippines Central Bank: Inflation likely to rise in coming months due to the typhoon
- (ES) Moody's changes Outlook on Spain govt bond rating to Stable from Negative; Affirms Baa3 rating
***Equities*** Market Snapshot (as of 04:30 GMT): - Nikkei225 -0.4%, S&P/ASX -0.8%, Kospi -0.5%, Shanghai Composite -0.1%, Hang Seng -0.3%, Dec S&P500 flat at 1,791, Feb gold -0.8% at $1,237, Jan crude oil +0.2% at $96.42/brl
US markets: - KFY: Reports Q2 $0.38 v $0.34e, R$238.0M v $234Me; +4.4% afterhours - GGP: To enter S&P500 index; effective Dec 9th close; +3.6% afterhours - NUAN: Investor Icahn raises stake to 18.72% - filing; +2.1% afterhours - VRNT: Reports Q3 $0.80 v $0.65e, R$224.3M v $224Me; +1.6% afterhours - ENB: Guides initial FY14 C$1.84-2.04 v C$1.91e; Raises quarterly dividend 11% to $0.35/shr from $0.315/shr; +0.9% afterhours - DIS: Increases annual cash dividend 15% to $0.86 from $0.75; +0.5% afterhours - GES: Reports Q3 $0.42 v $0.39e, R$613.5M v $617Me; +0.3% afterhours
- SNPS: Reports Q4 $0.56 v $0.55e, R$504.9M v $507Me; -4.1% afterhours - ARO: Reports Q3 -$0.29 (adj) v -$0.25e, R$514.6M v $516Me; -6.0% afterhours - WTSL: Reports Q3 -$0.12 (adj) v -$0.12e, R$127.7M v $134Me; -15.7% afterhours
Notable movers by sector: - Consumer discretionary: Fairfax Media Ltd FXJ.AU +5.8% (to sell Stayz); China Weaving Materials Holdings Ltd 3778.HK +50.6% (FY13 guidance); Qantas Airways Ltd QAN.AU -11.4% (H1 guidance); China Huiyuan Juice Group 1886.HK -0.7% (share issuance) - Industrials: Nufarm Ltd NUF.AU -6.5% (H1 guidance); Samsung Engineering Co Ltd 028050.KR +1.9% (awarded order); CPI Yuanda 600292.CN +2.9%, Fujian Longking 600388.CN +3.0%, Beijing SPC Environmental 002573.CN +2.4%, Kelin Environmental 002499.CN +7.6% (smog reported in China for 3rd consecutive days) - Financials: Westfield Group WDC.AU -2.0% (buys WTC retail facilities) - Healthcare: Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd 4568.JP -2.3% (product halt) - Telecom: China Telecom 941.HK +0.8% (speculate Apple agreement)