Asian Mid-session Update: China CPI rebounds from 5-year lows
***Economic Data***
- (CN) CHINA FEB CPI Y/Y: 1.4% V 1.0%E
- (CN) CHINA FEB PPI Y/Y: -4.8% V -4.3%E; 36th month of decline
- (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB NAB BUSINESS CONFIDENCE: 0 V 3 PRIOR (20-month low); CONDITIONS: 2 V 2 PRIOR
- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index: 110.3 v 112.5 prior
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND FEB TOTAL CARD SPENDING M/M: +0.4% V +0.1% PRIOR; RETAIL SPENDING M/M: +1.0% V +0.4%E (4-month high)
- (NZ) New Zealand Feb ANZ Heavy Truckometer m/m: -1.3% v 0.8% prior; first decline in 3 months
- (JP) JAPAN FEB M2 MONEY SUPPLY Y/Y: 3.5% V 3.5%E; M3 MONEY SUPPLY Y/Y: 2.9% V 2.9%E
- (UK) UK FEB BRC SALES LFL Y/Y: 0.2% V 0.5%E
***Index Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 +0.2%, S&P/ASX +0.3%, Kospi -0.3%, Shanghai Composite -0.5%, Hang Seng -0.7%, Mar S&P500 -0.1% at 2,076
***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Apr gold flat at $1,165, Apr crude oil +0.2% at $50.16/brl
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 3.3 tonnes to 753.0 tonnes; Lowest since Jan 27th
- USD/CNY: PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1572 v 6.1563 prior setting; weakest Yuan setting since Nov 7th
- (CN) PBoC to inject CNY35B in 7-day reverse repos (4th consecutive injection)
- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$150M in 3% indexed bonds due 2025; Avg yield: 0.4001%; Bid-to-cover: 4.49x
***Market Focal Points/FX***
- China inflation data were in focus in today's session, coming in mixed with a lower than expected PPI and higher than anticipated CPI. Food CPI contributed to the rebound, rising to 2.4% v 1.1% prior, while non-food CPI was up slightly at 0.9% v 0.6% prior. Stats Bureau official attributed the increase to holiday factors and a large rise in vegetable and fruit prices. PPI has now been negative for 3 consecutive years, and the decline last month appears to have grown worse. NBS noted the drop was exacerbated by falling oil refining, chemical fibre, and material costs. Separately, PBoC Dep Gov Yi Gang said CPI would remain in positive territory in the near future, pointing to Japan and Europe having larger deflation risks than China. PBoC advisor Chen also noted there is no risk of hard landing in China as economy is stabilizing and improving.
- NZD/USD was the most volatile pair among the USD majors, falling to a 1-month low below the $0.73 level. Fonterra halted trading after police reported a threat to contaminate infant and other formula in an apparent protest over the use of 1080 poison in pest control. NZD was already under modest pressure after the leading indicator ANZ Truckometer index put in its first decline in 3 months. USD/JPY rose over 60pips above 121.70, while AUD/USD fell about 50pips below $0.7660.
- Japan Econ Min Amari sought to defuse overnight disappointment in slower than expected rebound in Q4 GDP, noting growth remains on solid recovery track. Amari added the downward revision was not necessarily pessimistic, since consumption is still expanding.
- In Europe, Greece Fin Min Varoufakis said Athens is preparing a new set of reform steps following reports that Eurogroup fin mins largely found last week's proposals to be unsatisfactory. In the mean time, ECB was reportedly planning a teleconference for Thursday to discuss the extension of ELA funding for Greece banks. In Ukraine, local military officials reported attacks by pro-Russian rebels outside the southern port of Mariupol - a large coastal city that was speculated to be the next likely target - despite reports that heavy artillery was being pulled away from the front lines by both sides.
***Equities***
US markets:
- URBN: Reports Q1 $0.60 v $0.57e, R$1.01B v $1.01Be; +6.4% afterhours
- QIHU: Reports Q4 $0.75 v $0.73e, R$431M v $415Me; Announces additional $200M shares repurchase program (3.3% of market cap); +5.8% afterhours
- QCOM: *INCREASES DIVIDEND 14% TO $0.48 FROM $0.42 (2.6% yield), APPROVES $15B BUYBACK PROGRAM (12.5% of market cap); +3.5% afterhours
- SWKS: To replace Petsmart in S&P 500; +2.2% afterhours
- CASY: Reports Q3 $1.01 v $0.73e, R$1.67B v $1.79Be; -1.0% afterhours
- TITN: Guides Q4 -$0.23 to -$0.18 v $0.08e, R$491M v $567Me; implement realignment program, cutting 14% of workforce; -12.1% afterhours
- BIDU: CEO: Company would sell shares in China if policy allows; should be able to roll out smart car this year - financial press
Notable movers by sector:
- Financials: Agile Property Holdings 3383.HK -0.2% (Feb sales results); Greentown China 3900.HK flat (Feb sales results); China Merchants Property 000024.CN -2.9% (Feb sales results); Poly Real Estate 600048.CN -2.7% (Feb sales results)
- Industrials: SITC International Holdings 1308.HK -1.6% (FY14 results)
- Technology: Sunny Optical Technology Group 2382.HK +3.1% (FY14 results)
- Utilities: Yokogawa Electric Corp 6841.JP +3.0% (FY14 guidance); Kyushu Electric Power 9508.JP -1.9% (FY14/15 guidance)