Asian Mid-session Update: China 2014 GDP slows to 24-year low, misses target for the first time since '98; IMF cuts global growth targets
***Economic Data***
- (CN) CHINA Q4 GDP Q/Q: 1.5% V 1.7%E; Y/Y: 7.3% V 7.2%E
- (CN) CHINA 2014 URBAN FIXED ASSETS: 15.7% V 15.7%E; Fresh 13-year low
- (CN) CHINA DEC INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION Y/Y: 7.9% (3-month high) V 7.4%E; INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION YTD Y/Y: 8.3% V 8.2%E
- (CN) CHINA DEC RETAIL SALES Y/Y: 11.9% (4-month high) V 11.7%E; 2014 RETAIL SALES: 12.0% V 12.0%E
- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index: 113.6 v 112.0 prior
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q4 NZIER BUSINESS OPINION SURVEY: 23 V 19 PRIOR
***Index Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 +1.7%, S&P/ASX flat, Kospi +0.7%, Shanghai Composite +1.8%, Hang Seng +0.7%, Mar S&P500 +1.3% at 2,015,
***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Feb gold flat at $1,277, Mar crude oil flat at $47.70/brl, Mar Copper +0.6% at $2.59/lb
- JGB: (JP) Japan's MoF sells ¥2.50T in 0.1% (0.1% prior) 5-yr notes; Avg yield: 0.00% v 0.083% prior; Bid to cover: 4.38x v 4.24x prior
- (CN) PBoC won't conduct open market operations (OMO) in today's session (15th consecutive halt)
***Market Focal Points/Key Themes/FX***
- Renewed hopes for further PBoC easing has given China markets a lift, reversing some of the largest losses in Shanghai Composite since 2007. China 2014 GDP of 7.4% beat 7.3% consensus, but still marked the first official miss since 1998 and also the lowest rate of growth in 24 years, as consumption component of GDP rose to 51.2% from 48.2% prior. Industrial production topped estimates, as power generation bounced by another 9.2% - well above the low power consumption figure estimated by the NEA last week. Retail sales were also marginally higher, while fixed asset investment hit multi-year lows. Stats Bureau official said the govt will look to maintain economy within reasonable range given the challenges being faced amid increasing urbanization and property sector adjustment. Also of note, CSRC official said the regulator's oversight into margin accounts was not intended to put pressure on the stock market, even though brokers were once again under pressure amid potential squeeze on trading volumes.
- IMF cut its global GDP forecast to 3.5% v 3.8% prior in 2015 and 3.7% from 4.0% prior in 2016. China and Japan were cut 0.3pts and 0.2pts to 6.8% and 0.6% respectively this year, while EM GDP is now seen at 4.3% v 5.0% prior. IMF remarked that dimming outlook worldwide underscores need for stronger policy action to boost growth, and that even the positive aspect of lower oil prices is offset by the broad slowdown. Finally, IMF called on the ECB to take aggressive easing measures in this week's decision.
- Ahead of tomorrow's BOJ decision, Econ Min Amari said it was up to the central bank to make additional policy adjustment decisions, particularly if they feel the price target is difficult to achieve. USD/JPY rose about 70pips in the session toward 118.30 session high, and AUD/USD was down about 40pips below 0.8180 despite the initial bounce from China data. CHF gains have been pared further in the US hours, as USD/CHF rose about 100pips to $0.88
- In Australia, Rio Tinto put out its quarterly production figures that saw annual output largely in line with consensus. Iron ore production of 79.1M rose from 76.8M tons q/q, and up 12% y/y. Roy Morgan weekly consumer confidence bounced, and iron ore shipping ports were reopened after yesterday's cyclone threat.
***Equities***
US markets:
- MOS: Guides Q4 $0.83-0.88 v $0.59e
- DWA: Said to cut as many as 400 jobs (about 18% of workforce) - LA Times
- GOOG: Said to near $1B investment in SpaceX to deliver internet access through satellites - financial press
Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Seiko Holdings Corp 8050.JP -2.5% (press speculation on Q3 results); Gree Electric Appliances 000651.CN +2.7% (prelim FY14 results); Toyota: To start sales of a new Prius model
- Financials: Macquarie Group MQG.AU +3.3% (analyst action); CITIC Securities 600030.CN -8.4%, Haitong Securities 600837.CN -7.3%, GF Securities 000776.CN -5.9% (momentum on CSRC's halt of new margin accounts)
- Materials: Atlas Iron AGO.AU -5.3% (Q2 production results); Perseus Mining PRU.AU -2.8% (Q2 production results); Base Resources BSE.AU -3.0% (Q3 production results); Resolute Mining RSG.AU -2.6% (Q2 production results); Sirius Resources SIR.AU +8.7% (announces gold discovery); Rio Tinto RIO.AU -0.1% (Q4 production results); OceanaGold Corp OGC.AU +4.2% (2014 production results)
- Industrials: GUD Holdings GUD.AU +6.0% (H1 results)
- Technology: UXC Ltd UXC.AU +8.1% (H1 guidance); GungHo Online Entertainment 3765.JP +2.5% (press speculation on FY14 results); ZTE Corp 000063.CN +4.9% (prelim FY14 results); Samsung Electronics 005930.KR +1.0% (to consider stock split)