Asian Mid-session Update: AUD recovers as Fitch sees no threat to AAA rating ahead of today's budget release
***Economic Data***
- (AU) AUSTRALIA MAR HOME LOANS M/M: 1.6% V 1.0%E; 3-month high
- (AU) AUSTRALIA MAR CREDIT CARD BALANCES: A$51.5B v A$51.1B PRIOR; CREDIT CARD PURCHASES: A$25.6B v A$22.1B PRIOR
- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index: 110.6 v 108.7 prior
- (NZ) New Zealand REINZ Apr House Price Index: v 4,340.9 prior; House Sales Y/Y: 27.6% v 20.3% prior
- (NZ) New Zealand APR ANZ Heavy Truckometer m/m: -0.6% v -0.4% prior
- (JP) JAPAN APR OFFICIAL RESERVE ASSETS: $1.25T V $1.25T PRIOR
- (UK) UK APR BRC SALES LFL Y/Y: -2.4% V 0.6%E; first decline in 4 months
***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -0.6%, S&P/ASX +0.4%, Kospi -0.2%, Shanghai Composite +1.0%, Hang Seng -0.1%, Jun S&P500 flat at 2,097
***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Jun gold +0.1% at $1,183/oz, Jun crude oil -0.2% at $59.16/brl, May copper +0.2% at $2.92/lb
- (CN) NDRC raises gasoline price by CNY255/ton and diesel price by CNY245/ton (3rd consecutive rise) - financial press
- (CN) PBoC won't conduct open market operations (OMO) in today's session (7th consecutive halt)
- JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.19T in 0.4% (0.4% prior) 10-yr notes; Avg Yield: 0.434% v 0.369% prior; bid-to-cover: 2.24x (multi-year low) v 2.75x prior
***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Asian equities are mixed as investors digest rising pressure in global bond markets. The yield on the US 10-year has now topped 2.27% - the highest level of the year. Australia's 10-yr is yielding nearly 3%, up over 10bps from yesterday, and Japan's 10-year is now well above 0.4% after a disappointing 10-year auction that saw bid-to-cover fall to 6-year lows. Shanghai Composite is leading in the region with another 1% rise in the wake of the weekend PBoC rate cut. Japan's Nikkei225 is underperforming despite weaker JPY, as recent trouble at Toshiba and Sharp weigh on sentiment.
- In FX, AUD was among the more notable movers in an otherwise subdued trading session. AUD/USD recovered the $0.79 handle after the release of better than expected home loans data that could force the RBA to consider property bubble risks if (and when) it entertains further policy easing. Australia's Treasurer Hockey will also announce the annual FY15/16 budget later today, and has already indicated the budget will top market forecast for a deficit of A$40-41B. Separately, economist with Fitch stated Australia's AAA rating is not at risk, as the country's debt ratio would stay far below those of the US, UK or France for the foreseeable future despite the decline in key commodity prices. AUD extended its gains above $0.7920 after that report. In other USD majors, EUR/USD traded in a 30pip range around $1.1160, while USD/JPY was locked in a 15pip range above ¥120.
***Equities***
US equities / ADRs:
- PLL: Said to be near sale with final bids due within the week; May value company at $13B or more (vs $10.6B current market cap) - financial press; +23.8% afterhours
- MDR: Reports Q1 -$0.06 v -$0.08e, R$550.5M v $783Me; Discloses 1,675 layoffs recently (about 12% of workforce); +2.0% afterhours
- PRGO: Mylan Chairman said to sweeten offer by adding terms - financial press; +0.1% afterhours
- MTZ: Reports Q1 $0.07 v $0.18e, R$1.00B v $1.00Be; -6.8% afterhours
- RAX: Reports Q1 $0.20 v $0.20e, R$480M v $482Me; -13.0% afterhours
Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer discretionary: NH Foods Ltd 2282.JP -1.8% (FY14/15 results); Uni-President China Holdings 220.HK +2.7% (Q1 result)
- Financials: Mitsui Fudosan Co 8801.JP -1.6% (FY14/15 results); Fosun International 656.HK -1.7% (to raise capital); China Galaxy Securities 6881.HK +1.7% (April result); Ping An Insurance 601318.CN +0.6% (YTD premium income)
- Technology: AAC Technologies 2018.HK +4.1% (Q1 result)
- Industrial: Suzuki Motor Corp 7269.JP +5.0% (FY14/15 results); NSK Ltd 6471.JP +2.2% (FY14/15 results); Bridgestone Corp 5108.JP -4.4% (Q1 results); CSR Ltd CSR.AU +7.1% (FY14 results); Orica Ltd ORI.AU +2.8% (H1 results)
- Telecom: Softbank Corp 9984.JP -1.1% (FY14/15 results)