Asian Mid-session Update: China Services PMI recovers; Australia GDP surprises to the upside
***Economic Data***
- (CN) CHINA MAY HSBC SERVICES PMI: 53.5 V 52.9 PRIOR; COMPOSITE PMI: 51.2 V 51.3 PRIOR
- (AU) AUSTRALIA Q1 GDP Q/Q: 0.9% (1-year high) V 0.7%E; Y/Y: 2.3% V 2.1%E
- (AU) AUSTRALIA MAY AIG PERF OF CONSTRUCTION INDEX: 49.6 V 49.7 PRIOR (2nd straight contraction)
- (HK) HONG KONG MAY HSBC PMI: 47.6 V 48.6 PRIOR (3rd consecutive month of contraction)
- (JP) JAPAN MAY MARKIT SERVICES PMI: 51.5 (2nd straight expansion) V 51.3 PRIOR; COMPOSITE PMI: 51.6 V 50.7 PRIOR
- (NZ) MAY ANZ COMMODITY PRICE M/M: -4.7% V -7.4%% PRIOR; 2nd straight decline
- (UK) UK MAY BRC SHOP PRICE INDEX Y/Y: -1.9% V -1.8%E
***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -0.4%, S&P/ASX -0.9%, Kospi +0.4%, Shanghai Composite +0.1%, Hang Seng +0.9%, Jun S&P500 flat at 2,107
***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Aug gold flat at $1,194/oz, Jul crude oil -0.6% at $60.91/brl, Jul copper +0.4% at $2.75/lb
- (US) API Petroleum Inventories: Crude +1.8M (2nd straight build) v -1.5Me; Gasoline +1.6M v 0e
- SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings rise to 9,896 from 9,862; highest since May 15th
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 4.2 tonnes (0.6%) to 709.9 tonnes; lowest since Jan 14th
- (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥375B in 1-3yr JGBs, ¥400B in 3-5yr JGBs, and ¥400B in 5-10yr JGBs
- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$700M in 4.75% 2027 Bonds; avg yield: 2.9805%; bid-to-cover: 2.19x
- USD/CNY: PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1176 v 6.1225 prior setting; strongest Yuan setting since May 26th
***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Asia indices initially tracked mixed sentiment in the US markets but have rolled over in the afternoon session. China is finally being pressured by high IPO activity on the mainland this week, Nikkei225 is on the defensive amid a bounce in Japanese Yen from multi-year lows, while S&P/ASX is down after stronger than expected Australia GDP justified a more neutral than anticipated RBA statement overnight.
- Australia's Q1 GDP came in at a 1-year high of 0.9% q/q, topping consensus by 2 ticks. Consumption component saw modest growth and capital formation decline was less than feared after than disappointing quarterly CAPEX survey last week. Treasurer Hockey said the govt's economic objectives are working, with growth in tourism and exports. AUD/USD rose about 40pips on the release to test the upside of $0.78 handle.
- China Services PMI from HSBC recovered from last month, offsetting deteriorating conditions in manufacturing. Resident economist said "service providers saw the strongest upturn in new business for three years in May, which supported sharper growth of activity and employment. In contrast, manufacturing companies continued to trim their payroll numbers as both output and new orders contracted over the month." Weak momentum in growth remains a concern for HSBC, which called for further stimulus just to achieve the target GDP of about 7%. PMI out of Hong Kong was more troubling with a 3rd consecutive month of contraction. Markit economist said the "The downturn in Hong Kongs private sector intensified in May, with output falling at the quickest rate in three-and-a-half years amid a faster contraction of new orders. Furthermore, new business from Mainland China fell at the quickest rate since December 2008."
- In Japan, BOJ's Shirai was somewhat cautious in terms of inflation outlook, forecasting 2% objective to be achieved only at the end of 2016. Shirai did not moderate wage rises would support spending, and while current asset buying scale was appropriate, there is little chance for incoming data to justify expanded easing. USD/JPY retreated further on the comments, falling by over 40 pips as low as 123.80.
***Equities***
US equities / ADRs:
- SNCR: Company is exploring a sale; Drawn some interest from private equity names; Takeover may value company over $2B - financial press; +15.7% afterhours
- GIII: Reports Q1 $0.15 v $0.07e, R$433M v $405Me; +7.1% afterhours
- AMBA: Reports Q1 $0.71 v $0.58e, R$71M v $67.7Me; +1.0% afterhours
- ENR: Approves 10M share buyback program (16% of shares outstanding)
Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer discretionary: Fast Retailing Co 9983.JP -0.4% (May Uniqlo Japan sales); Fonterra FCG.NZ -0.8% (Global Dairy Trade auction)
- Financials: Ping An Insurance Group 601318.CN -0.6%, Industrial Bank Co 601166.CN -1.5% (halts margin financing by some brokerages); Guangzhou R&F Properties 2777.HK +1.0% (May result); Beijing Capital Development Co Ltd 600376.CN +10.0% (share placement); Beijing Capital Land 2868.HK +2.9% (May result)
- Industrials: China Railway Construction Corp 1186.HK +5.1% (to issue A shares); Honda Motor 7267.JP +1.4% (May sales); Nippon Sheet Glass Co 5202.JP +3.0% (plans to increase capacity in Malaysia); Mazda Motor Corp 7261.JP % (May US sales); Hyundai Motor 005380.KR +1.0% (Kia May auto sales); China Railway Construction Corp 601186.CN +4.2% (share placement)
- Energy: Karoon Gas Australia KAR.AU +0.4% (in talks with Petrobras)
- Materials: LIXIL Group Corp 5938.JP +3.8% (cuts FY14/15 guidance)