Asian Mid-session Update: RBA joins the global monetary easing party with surprise rate cut; Lenovo rallies on strong Q3
***Economic Data***
- (AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) CUTS CASH RATE TARGET BY 25BPS TO 2.25% (record low); NOT EXPECTED (1st rate cut since Aug 2013)
- (AU) AUSTRALIA DEC TRADE BALANCE (A$): -436M V -850ME; 9TH STRAIGHT MONTHLY DEFICIT
- (AU) AUSTRALIA DEC BUILDING APPROVALS M/M: -3.3% V -5.0%E (1st decline in 3-month); Y/Y: 8.8% V 5.1%E (3rd consecutive increase)
- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index: 112.4 v 113.2 prior
- (CN) China FX Regulator SAFE: China Q4 current account surplus $61.1B v $81.5B q/q
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND JAN QV HOUSE PRICES: 5.7% V 4.9% PRIOR
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND JAN ANZ COMMODITY PRICE M/M: -0.9% V -4.4% PRIOR (10th straight decline)
- (JP) JAPAN JAN MONETARY BASE Y/Y: 37.4% V 38.2% PRIOR; MONETARY BASE END OF PERIOD: ¥278.6T V ¥275.9T PRIOR
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA JAN CPI M/M: 0.5% V 0.6%E; Y/Y: 0.8% V 0.9%E; CPI CORE Y/Y: 2.4% (3-year high) V 2.1%E
***Index Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -0.2%, S&P/ASX +1.3%, Kospi -0.1%, Shanghai Composite +0.4%, Hang Seng -0.3%, Mar S&P500 -0.2% at 2,012
***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Apr gold -0.2% at $1,276, Mar crude oil +0.9% at $50.02/brl
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings rise 8.3 tonnes to 766.7 tonnes; highest since Oct 2nd
- SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings rise to 9,967 tonnes from 9,931 tonnes priors
- JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.19T in 0.3% (0.3% prior) 10-yr notes; Avg Yield: 0.313% v 0.295% prior; bid-to-cover: 2.68x (lowest since July 2013) v 3.42x prior
- (CN) PBoC to inject CNY35B in 7-day reserve repos and CNY55B in 28-day reserve repos (4th consecutive injection, biggest injection since Jan 27th, 2014)
***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Reserve Bank of Australia became the latest major central bank to go beyond expectations in policy accommodation, cutting interest rates by 25bps to a new record low of 2.25% against expected hold with an easing bias. Heeding the call from Australia treasurer Hockey to respond to changing global circumstances and also tracking a much more dovish position from the RBNZ last week, RBA cited weaker than expected growth in Europe/Japan, lower oil prices pushing down inflation, below-trend domestic growth, and expectations for persisting spare capacity in rationalizing its easing. Moreover, RBA noted the decline in the terms of trade is working to reduce income growth, and this has been reflected in the 9th consecutive month of trade deficit in Australia also released today. AUD/USD fell about 140pips to 5-year low of $0.7650 after the RBA decision, while S&P/ASX rose above 5,700 - the highest level in 6 1/2 years. NZD/USD also hit multi-year lows below the $0.72 handle, down over 80pips after the RBA.
- In China, the PBoC continued to inject cash into the system via open market operations going into the Lunar New Year holiday spending period with another ¥90B move in 7- and 28-day repos - its 4th consecutive and also biggest injection since late January of 2014. Among notable Chinese press reports, China insurers were speculated to start adding stock investments to their portfolios in 2015. Hong Kong-traded Lenovo was sharply higher after a strong Q3 report - sales rose 40%, gross margins expanded over 700bps, while PC market share reached a new record high of 20%. PC shipments growth rose by 12% and smartphone shipments surged nearly 80%.
- Negotiations of Trans-Pacific Partnership terms are reportedly progressing well, and Japan's Econ Min Amari said he would welcome a 12-nation meeting as soon as early spring. Recall overnight Japanese press reported US could drop tariffs on Japanese cars in over 10 years as part of the unfolding agreement. Separately, Nikkei report citing Japan Center for Economic Research (JCER) estimated December economic growth recovered to +0.3%, led by the weak-yen supported exports rising over 3%. USD/JPY was under renewed pressure in today's session, falling over 70pips below 116.90 amid reports that the BOJ is increasingly less inclined to achieve its policy objectives through exchange rate devaluation.
***Equities***
US markets:
- CLF: Reports Q4 $1.00 v $0.13e, R$1.28B v $1.22Be; +9.6% afterhours
- IDTI: Reports Q3 $0.25 v $0.22e, R$151M v $143Me; Guides Q4 R$154-162M v $144Me - conf call; +7.1% afterhours
- ADVS: SS&C confirmed To Acquire Advent Software for $2.7B in cash or $44.25/shr; SSNC sees FY16 EPS $3.05-3.15; +5.7% afterhours
- OI: Reports Q4 $0.46 v $0.46e, R$1.60B v $1.65Be; +2.8% afterhours
- UTX: RAISES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND 8.5% TO $0.64; Indicated yield 2.2%; flat afterhours
- HIG: Reports Q4 $0.96 v $0.93e, R$4.62B v $3.27Be; -1.2% afterhours
- RCII: Reports Q4 $0.50 v $0.63e, R$797M v $805Me; -14.1% afterhours
- SSYS: Guides prelim FY14 $1.97-2.03 v $2.25e, R$748-750M v $762Me (prior guidance $2.21-2.31, Rev $750-770M); -27.2% afterhours
Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer Discretionary: Navitas Ltd NVT.AU -3.6% (H1 results); Jiangling Motor 000550.CN +2.6% (Jan production results)
- Financials: Sun Hung Kai & Co 86.HK -5.0% (despite sale of Sun Hung Kai Financial to Everbright Securities)
- Materials: BHP Billiton BHP.AU +3.1%, Rio Tinto RIO.AU +1.5% (RBA cuts rate); LIXIL Group Corp 5938.JP +3.1% (9-month results)
- Energy: Oil Search OSH.AU +4.3%; CNOOC 883.HK +2.9%, PetroChina 857.HK +1.4% (crude oil higher today)
- Technology: Lenovo 992.HK +6.3% (Q3 results)
- Utilities: Mitsubishi Electric Corp 6503.JP -1.7% (9-month results)