Asia Mid-Session Market Update: Asia Equities trade cautiously ahead US payrolls report and Toyota earnings, USD/JPY remains near 110; RBA reiterates concerns about gains in the Aussie
***Asia Summary***
- Asian equity markets are currently trading mixed, in line with what was seen during the New York session. Overall markets have traded cautiously ahead of the later release of US monthly employment data and quarterly earnings out of auto giant Toyota.
- In Singapore, shares of large banking name DBS have declined by over 1.5% after its quarterly profits missed expectations.
- The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) issued its quarterly monetary policy statement in which it lowered its 2017 GDP growth forecast, but kept underlying inflation forecasts unchanged. The central bank also reiterated its concerns about the recent gains in the Australian dollar, after it suggested in its Aug 1st policy decision that the gains in the Aussie could impact growth and inflation.
***Key economic data***
- (AU) AUSTRALIA JUNE RETAIL SALES M/M: 0.3% V 0.2%E; Q/Q: 1.5% V 1.2%E
- (AU) RBA QUARTERLY STATEMENT ON MONETARY POLICY: REITERATES RECENT AUD (A$) RISE HAD MODEST EFFECT ON GDP FORECASTS
- (JP) JAPAN JUNE LABOR CASH EARNINGS Y/Y: -0.4% V 0.5%E; REAL CASH EARNINGS Y/Y: -0.8% V 0.1%E
- (PH) PHILIPPINES JULY CPI M/M: 0.3% V 0.2%E; Y/Y: 2.8% V 2.8%E; Core Y/Y: 2.1% v 2.7%e
***Speakers and Press***
Japan
- (JP) Former BoJ Official Kiuchi: Hope other members consider 'serious' policy side effect; may reach limit of JGB purchases in middle of 2018
- (JP) Japan Economic Revitalization Minister Motegi: Reiterates to maintain FY2020 primary balance surplus goal
***Asian Equity Indices/Futures (00:30ET)***
- Nikkei -0.3%, Hang Seng +0.1%, Shanghai Composite +0.2%, ASX200 -0.3%, Kospi +0.2%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 flat ; Nasdaq flat , Dax flat , FTSE100 flat
***FX ranges/Commodities/Fixed Income (00:30ET)***
- EUR 1.1869-1.1888; JPY 109.85-110.19; AUD 0.7934-0.7975; NZD 0.7423-0.7450
- Aug Gold -0.4% at 1,267/oz; Aug Crude Oil -0.4% at $48.86/brl; Sept Copper +0.3% at $2.89/lb
- GLD SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings unchanged at 791.9 metric tons
- (AU) Australia sells A$500M in 1.75% Nov 2020 bonds, avg yield 1.9447%, bid to cover 5.04x
- (CN) PBOC SETS YUAN REFERENCE RATE AT: 6.7132 V 6.7211 PRIOR
- (CN) China PBOC OMO injects CNY120B in 7 and 14-day reverse repos v CNY60B in 7-day reverse repo prior
***Equities notable movers***
Australia
- Sims Metal Management, SGM.AU Announces succession plan for CEO and CFO, along with FY17 guidance; -12.7%
- Commonwealth Bank, CBA.AU Austrac initiated civil penalty proceedings related to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws
- Crown Ltd, CWN.AU FY17 profits below estimates; -2%
- Tabcorp, TAH.AU Reported FY17 results; +1.3%
Hong Kong/China
- CK Hutchsion Holdings, 1.HK H1 Profits below estimates; -4.5%
Japan
- Mazda, 7261.JP Speculated capital tie-up with Toyota; +4.5%
***US markets on close: Dow flat, S&P500 -0.2%, Nasdaq -0.4%, Russell -0.6% ***
- Best Sector in S&P500: Utilities, Industrials +0.5%
- Worst Sector in S&P500: Energy -1.4%
- At the close: VIX 10.44 (+0.16 pts); Treasuries: 2-yr 1.34% (-2bps), 10-yr 2.22% (-5bps), 30-yr 2.79% (-6bps)
***US Market Summary***
- Blue chips continued to hit higher ground, with the Dow marking a new all-time high again at 22,040 before trading lower towards day end. Apple and Amazon both lost nearly 1%, putting the most pressure on the S&P. Attention shifts to tomorrow's jobs data. Yesterday's lower than expected ADP weekly increase reduced forecasts for tomorrow's NFP data, with consensus at +178k.
***US Afterhours Movers***
-After Market Movers
-GPRO Reports Q2 -$0.09 v -$0.26e, Rev $296.5M v $271Me; Guides Q3 R$290-310M v $279Me, Gross Margin 36-38% range; +16% afterhours
-YELP Reports Q2 $0.25 v $0.20e, Rev $208.9M v $205Me; authorizes $200M share buyback; +14.8% afterhours
-WTW Reports Q2 $0.67 v $0.50e, Rev $341M v $334Me; Raises FY17 $1.57-1.67 v $1.28e (prior FY17 $1.40-1.50); +14.3% afterhours
-MDRX Reports Q2 $0.15 v $0.15e, Rev $428M v $424Me; Raises FY17 R$1.79-1.82B v 1.72Be; +12.2% afterhours
-FLR Reports Q2 -$0.17* v $0.59e, Rev $4.70B v $4.94Be; -9.0% afterhours
-SYNA Reports Q4 $1.18 v $1.16e, Rev $426.5M v $427Me; Guides Q1 Rev $380-420M v 447Me; -14.6% afterhours
-PI Reports Q2 $0.06 v $0.03e, Rev $34.1M v $33.9Me; Guides Q3 -$0.08 to -$0.01 v $0.08e, R$31.8-33.3M v $38Me, Adj EBITDA -$1.7M to -$0.2M ; -23.3% afterhours
-AAOI Reports Q2 $1.54 v $1.35e, Rev $117.4M v $116Me; Guides Q3 $1.30-1.43 v $1.36e; R$107-115M v $123Me; Sees softer than expected demand for 40G solutions with a large customer; -29.3% afterhours