Asian Market Update: China property prices continue to slide; Japan PM Abe set to announce snap polls
***Economic Data***
- (CN) CHINA OCT NEW HOME PRICES M/M: PRICES RISE IN 0 OF 70 CITIES V 0 PRIOR; Y/Y: PRICES RISE IN 3 OF 70 CITIES V 10 PRIOR
- (CN) CHINA OCT ACTUAL FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) Y/Y: +1.3% V +1.1%E; YTD y/y: -1.2% (4th consecutive decline) at $95.88B v -1.4% prior
- (JP) JAPAN Q3 HOUSING LOANS Y/Y: 2.8% V 2.7% PRIOR
- (AU) Australia Sept Conference Board Leading Index: -0.3% v -0.1% prior (2nd consecutive decline)
- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index: 113.0 v 114.8 prior (6-week low)
***Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 +1.7%, S&P/ASX -0.3%, Kospi +1.0%, Shanghai Composite -0.4%, Hang Seng -0.6%, Dec S&P500 -0.1% at 2,038
***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Dec gold +0.3% at $1,186, Dec crude oil -0.4% at $75.33/brl
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings rise 2.4 tonnes to 723.0 tonnes; First rise since Oct 16th
- JGB: (JP) Japan's MoF sells ¥1.10T in 1.4% (1.4% prior) 20-year JGBs; Avg yield: 1.276% v 1.318% prior; bid-to-cover: 2.88x v 3.59x prior
- (JP) Japan 1-yr bill sold at negative yield for first time during auction
- (CN) PBoC to drain CNY20B in 14-day repos (31st consecutive drain)
***Market Focal Points/Key Themes/FX***
- Shanghai Composite has lost some of its post Hong Kong trading link related luster, leading regional indices to the downside after the release of another troubling report on mainland property prices. Average prices fell for the 6th consecutive time, down 0.8% m/m, while y/y drop of 2.5% was the second straight decline. Sequential decline did moderate for the second month, as Beijing scrambles to undo the tightening measures that caused property market inflation to grind to a halt. Top names in the property space - China Vanke and Poly - were down 1.6% and 2.4% respectively on the report.
- RBA released its policy minutes from November meeting and also noted that China property market slowdown poses one of the key risks to Australian economy. RBA further echoed the statement by noting that AUD is still elevated in trade weighted terms, and also implied the carry-trade flows from BOJ's expanded easing could hold the Australian exchange rate above fundamental levels even longer. Inflation outlook was deemed consistent with target range, while sluggish wage growth forecasted to keep price pressures in line. AUD/USD rose very slightly on the minutes release and the externally-driven tailwinds, hitting session highs around 0.8730.
- Numerous local press reports in Japan continue to indicate that PM Abe will formally confirm an 18-month delay to the sales tax increase and dissolve the lower house of Diet, allowing for the public to weigh in on this already unpopular measure. Some speculate that opposition will seek to frame this bump in the road reflected in the soft Q3 GDP as a failure of Abenomics in general, however cabinet members are deflecting the criticism and maintain the trend of recovery is intact. Accompanying the political maneuver, Abe is also widely expected to unveil a new set of fiscal stimulus measures, speculated to amount to as high as ¥3T. Nikkei225 has reclaimed about a half of its overnight losses as JPY weakened again, with USD/JPY finding short-term support at 116.40 and rising toward 116.80 morning-session highs.
***Equities***
US markets:
- SUNE: SunEdison and TerraForm Power sign definitive agreement to acquire First Wind for $2.4 Billion
- BX: To sell Midtown Manhattan office tower for $2.25B - financial press; +6.0% afterhours
- XLNX: Approves $800M buyback program (7% of market cap); +2.4% afterhours
- A: Reports Q4 $0.88 v $0.50e, R$1.81B v $1.81Be; +0.3% afterhours
- URBN: Reports Q3 $0.35 v $0.42e, R$814.5M v $818Me; -3.8% afterhours
Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: 361 Degress 1361.HK +3.7% (FY14 guidance); Joeone Co Ltd 601566.CN +1.9% (to acquire stake in brokerage securities firm)
- Financials: China Vanke 000002.CN -1.6%, Poly Real Estate 600048.CN -2.4% (China property prices decline), Sinotex Investment & Development 600061.CN +9.9% (to acquire Essence Securities)
- Materials: Doray Minerals DRM.AU +3.5% (enters agreement on exploration)
- Industrials: Toyota Motor Corp 7203.JP +2.2% (Chairman comments on fuel cell vehicles)
- Technology: Sony Corp 6758.JP +4.8% (sets targets for FY17)