Asian Market Update: GOP takes the US Senate; Occupy Central sends Hong Kong PMI deeper into contraction
***Economic Data*** - (CN) CHINA OCT HSBC SERVICES PMI: 52.9 V 53.5 PRIOR; Composite PMI: 51.7 v 52.3 prior - (HK) HONG KONG OCT HSBC PMI: 47.7 V 49.8 PRIOR (37-month low; 3rd month of contraction) - (JP) JAPAN SEPT LABOR CASH EARNINGS Y/Y: 0.8% V 0.8%E (7TH CONSECUTIVE INCREASE, 3-month low) - (JP) JAPAN OCT MONETARY BASE Y/Y: 36.9% V 35.3% PRIOR; MONETARY BASE END OF PERIOD: ¥259.5T (record high) V ¥252.6T PRIOR - (AU) AUSTRALIA OCT AIG PERFORMANCE OF SERVICES INDEX: 43.6 V 45.4 PRIOR (14-month low) - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q3 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.4% (5-year low) V 5.5%E; EMPLOYMENT CHANGE Q/Q: 0.8% V 0.6%E; Y/Y: 3.2% V 3.0%E - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q3 AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS Q/Q: 1.4% V 1.1%E; PRIVATE WAGES EX-OVERTIME Q/Q: 0.5% V 0.5%E; PRIVATE WAGES INCL OVERTIME Q/Q: 0.5% V 0.5%E - (UK) UK OCT BRC SHOP PRICE INDEX Y/Y: -1.9% V -1.7%E (18TH STRAIGHT MONTHLY DECLINE)
***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)*** - Nikkei225 -0.2%, S&P/ASX -0.3%, Kospi +0.2%, Shanghai Composite -0.5%, Hang Seng -0.5%, Dec S&P500 +0.3% at 2,011
***Commodities/Fixed Income*** - Dec gold -0.4% at $1,163, Dec crude oil +0.1% at $77.26/brl - (US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES: CRUDE: -0.64M (first draw in 5 weeks) v +2Me - GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 2.4 tonnes to 738.8 tonnes; Lowest level since Sept 2008 - SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings fall to 10,682 tonnes from 10,747 tonnes prior (lowest since Sept 23rd) - (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$600M in 4.5% 2033 Bonds; Average yield: 3.7374%; Bid-to-cover: 3.00x - JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.21T in 0.5% (0.5% prior) 10-yr notes; Avg Yield: 0.439% v 0.516% prior; bid-to-cover: 3.50x v 3.48x prior - USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1503 v 6.1543 prior setting (first strong CNY setting since Oct 28)
***Market Focal Points/Key Themes/FX*** - Republican party scored a resounding victory in the race to control the US senate, as GOP candidates avoided setbacks in all of the key battleground states. North Carolina, Iowa, Georgia, Colorado, and Kansas all tipped in favor of the Republican party, while Louisiana is heading for a run-off in December with expectations for Bill Cassidy to also topple Mary Landrieu (D). Pundits now project the Democrat party Senate count to be reduced to 45-46 seats, and Kentucky's Mitch McConnell would take the helm as the chamber majority leader on the GOP side. Markets generally saw little reaction to the midterm results, with S&P futures receiving a very slight 4-point nudge higher above 2,010.
- China HSBC Services and Hong Kong Manufacturing rounded out the regional PMI announcement period, with more disappointing prints out of the Far East. China services PMI hit a 3-month low, as HSBC economist said further easing measures in the coming months are justifiable to help offset the downward pressures on the economy. Out of Hong Kong, a 3rd month of contraction to the lowest level in 37 months was "widely attributed by panellists to recent political protests, though there had already been signs that growth was slowing in past months." Report added that "new orders received by private sector companies in Hong Kong contracted for the sixth consecutive month in October."
- BOJ Gov Kuroda spoke in Tokyo, largely reiterating sentiment from the most recent policy statement / press conference. Kuroda said easing would continue until inflation target was stable, QQE is having its desired effects, household spending would gradually pick up, and capex would also recover. Note earlier Nikkei report citing Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER) saw Sept GDP falling 0.3% m/m - the first decline in 5 months - accentuated by a 0.8% drop in housing investment.
- Down under, New Zealand Q3 unemployment rate fell to a 5 1/2 year low of 5.4%. NZ Stats added that "due to strong migration, we have had the largest annual rise in the population in 10 years (pushing) employment rate up to 65.2 of every 100 adults being in employment." Australia's CBA posted a solid Q1 update, while Morgan Stanley lowered Aussie 2015 GDP target to 1.9% from 2.5%
- Among USD majors, USD/JPY was up about 50pips around 114, EUR/USD ticked higher by about 20pips above 1.2560, and NZD/USD saw an 80pip jump after employment data to 0.7840 session high. Precious metals continued to sink - Dec gold and Dec silver fell about 0.5% to $1,161 and $15.80 respective lows.
***Equities*** US markets: - COUP: Reports Q3 -$0.01 v -$0.02e, R$58.5M v $39.7M y/y; +19.4% afterhours - EPE: Reports Q3 $0.24 v $0.23e; +4.9% afterhours - ATVI: Reports Q3 $0.23 v $0.12e, R$1.17B v $992Me; +3.8% afterhours - DVN: Reports Q3 $1.34 (adj) v $1.27e, R$5.34B v $4.29Be; +2.0% afterhours - TNET: Reports Q3 $0.28 v $0.26e, R$127.8M v $126Me; +1.9% afterhours - FOXA: Reports Q1 $0.39(adj) v $0.36e, R$7.89B v $6.42Be; +0.8% afterhours
- INTC: Hearing cut at Bernstein to Underperform from Market Perform; -1.2% afterhours - MYGN: Reports Q1 $0.25 v $0.31e, R$168.8M v $174Me; -2.4% afterhours - AWAY: Reports Q3 $0.20 v $0.16e, R$117.1M v $116Me; -7.0% afterhours - CHUY: Reports Q3 $0.19 v $0.20e, R$64.1M v $64.6Me; -8.9% afterhours - JMBA: Reports Q3 -$0.10 v $0.32e, R$58.3M v $59.5Me; -9.0% afterhours - TRIP: Reports Q3 $0.48 v $0.60e, R$354M v $348Me; -11.6% afterhours - ZU: Reports Q3 $0.02 v -$0.02e, R$285.5M v $287Me; -16.1% afterhours - FEYE: Reports Q3 -$0.51 v -$0.56e, R$114.2M v $116Me; -20.3% afterhours
Notable movers by sector: - Consumer Discretionary: Sands China 1928.HK -3.5%, SJM Holdings 880.HK -2.9%, Wynn Macau -2.6% (analyst actions) - Financials: Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AU +0.3% (Q1 results); Beijing Capital Land 2868.HK +1.5% (Oct sales results) - Industrials: Teijin 3401.JP +9.9% (H1 results); Takata Corp 7312.JP +3.2% (comments on airbag recalls); Nissan Motor 7201.JP +0.8% (H1 results); Transfield Services TSE.AU +2.5% (raises FY15 guidance) - Telecom: SoftBank 9984.JP -3.3% (H1 results)