Asian Mid-session Update: China, Hong Kong, Japan services PMI improve; Australia trade in deficit for 8th month
***Economic Data***
- (HK) HONG KONG DEC HSBC PMI: 50.3 V 48.8 PRIOR (first expansion in 5 months)
- (CN) CHINA DEC HSBC SERVICES PMI: 53.4 V 53.0 PRIOR; 3-month high
- (JP) JAPAN DEC MARKIT SERVICES PMI: 51.7 V 50.6 PRIOR
- (JP) JAPAN DEC MONETARY BASE Y/Y: 38.2% V 36.7% PRIOR; End of period: ¥275.9T v ¥262.7T prior
- (AU) AUSTRALIA NOV TRADE BALANCE (A$): -925M V -1.60BE; 8TH STRAIGHT DEFICIT
- (PH) PHILIPPINES DEC CPI M/M: -0.2% V -0.1%E; Y/Y: 2.7% V 2.8%E; CORE CPI Y/Y: 2.3% V 2.5%E
- (TW) TAIWAN DEC CPI Y/Y: 0.6% V 0.7%E; WPI Y/Y: -4.2% V -4.0%E
***Index Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -2.4%, S&P/ASX -1.9%, Kospi -1.6%, Shanghai Composite -1.0%, Hang Seng -1.4%, Mar S&P500 flat at 2,015
***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Feb gold +0.1% at $1,205, Feb crude oil +0.5% at $50.28/brl, Mar Copper +0.3% at $2.78/lb
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings rise 1.8 tonnes to 710.8 tonnes; First rise since Dec 21st
- SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings fall to 10,245 tonnes from 10,250 tonnes priors (lowest since Aug 19th)
- JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.19T in 0.3% (0.5% prior) 10-yr notes; Avg Yield: 0.295% v 0.473% prior; bid-to-cover: 3.42x v 3.01x prior
- (KR) South Korea sells 30-yr bond at avg yield of 2.89%
- (CN) PBoC won't conduct open market operations (OMO) in today's session (11th consecutive halt)
- USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1256 v 6.1248 prior setting (weakest setting since Dec 7th)
***Market Focal Points/Key Themes/FX***
- Plunge in crude oil prices, uncertainty over the spillover of potential Greek exit, and outright profit-taking from year-end rally are widely cited for investor sentiment turning sour over the past week, as US stocks fell for the 4th straight day. Negativity has spread to the far east with all regional indices in the red, led by an over 2% slump in Tokyo where stocks are weighed down by firmer Yen. USD/JPY fell another 50pips below ¥119.10 at the lows, even though EUR/USD is up 20pips above 1.1950 and AUD/USD is up 70pips at 0.8150.
- Strength in the Aussie dollar was spurred by a narrower than expected Australia trade deficit, even though imports topped export for the 8th straight month. Trade data components saw Imports and Exports up 1% - shipments to China rose 1.5% and exports of iron ore spiked some 25% above A$6.2B. Australia weekly consumer sentiment from ANZ also rose slightly, though ANZ economists said confidence is unlikely to rise without a stabilisation in the unemployment rate.
- In spite the broad-based equity selloff, there was some silver lining in the form of improving PMI figures. Hong Kong PMI returned to expansion for the first time in 5 months, as "private sector new orders returning to growth after seven consecutive months." China services PMI hit a 3-month high, with composite marking 8th month of expansion, as HSBC economist cited employment index improving modestly. Lastly, Japan services PMI of 51.7 was up from 50.6, and Markit economists also noted some employment growth despite subdued demand conditions.
***Equities***
US markets:
- AOL: Verizon said to be interested in its programmatic ad technology; Seeking potential acquisition or jv - financial press; +11.9% afterhours
- XOOM: Determined had been victim of a criminal fraud, sees charge of $30.8M; Raises Q4 Rev $43.1-43.6M v $41.7Me (prior guided $41-43M); -12.4% afterhours
Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: China Southern Airline 600029.CN +1.4%, Air China 601111.CN +2.9%, China Eastern Airline 600115.CN +1.1% (WTI Crude lower); McDonald's Japan 2702.JP -1.4% (a piece of vinyl found in a chicken nugget)
- Financials: Sunac China 1918.HK -0.1%, Greentown China 3900.HK -4.4% (Sunac accuses Greentown not telling the truth on jv deal); China Vanke -5.0% (despite strong Dec sales result); Shanghai Pudong Development Bank 600000.CN -0.1% (prelim FY14 results)
- Energy: Sundance Energy SEA.AU -6.4%, Drillsearch Energy DLS.AU -7.7%, Beach Energy BPT.AU -5.9% (WTI Crude moves lower)