TheChek News Flow

Asian Market Update: RBNZ Gov Wheeler talks down NZD; Australia retail sales growth slows; Alibaba files IPO

***Economic Data*** - (CN) CHINA SERVICES APR PMI SERVICES: 51.4 V 51.9 PRIOR; COMPOSITE PMI: 49.5 (3rd consecutive contraction) V 49.3 PRIOR - (AU) AUSTRALIA MAR RETAIL SALES M/M: 0.1% V 0.4%E (8-month low), Q1 RETAIL SALES EX INFLATION Q/Q: 1.2% V 1.6%E - (AU) AUSTRALIA APR AIG PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION INDEX: 45.9 V 46.2 PRIOR (4th consecutive contraction) - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q1 AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS Q/Q: 0.7% V 1.0%E; PRIVATE WAGES EX-OVERTIME Q/Q: 0.3% V 0.5%E; PRIVATE WAGES INCL OVERTIME Q/Q: 0.3% (4-year low) V 0.5%E - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q1 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 6.0% V 5.8%E; EMPLOYMENT CHANGE Q/Q: 0.9% V 0.6%E; Y/Y: 3.7% V 3.4%E - (JP) JAPAN APR MARKIT PMI SERVICES: 46.4 V 52.2 PRIOR; PMI COMPOSITE: 46.3 (lowest since May 2011) V 52.8 PRIOR - (HK) HONG KONG APR HSBC PMI: 49.7 V 49.9 PRIOR - (UK) UK APR BRC SHOP PRICE INDEX Y/Y: -1.4% V -0.8%E (12th month of decline)

Market Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT): - Nikkei225 -2.3%, S&P/ASX -1.0%, Kospi -1.0%, Shanghai Composite -0.4%, Hang Seng -1.0%, Jun S&P500 flat at 1,863, Jun gold +0.3% at $1,312, Jun crude oil +0.6% at $100.07/brl

***Highlights/Observations/Insights*** - Nikkei225 is leading regional indices to the downside, falling 2.3% in the morning session in a catch-up sell-off after two days of holidays. Three consecutive sessions of JPY strength is also driving the sellers, sending the index to its 3-week low around 14,100. Apr 7-8th BOJ meeting minutes saw general agreement that consumer spending is resilient although some fluctuations exist due to sale tax hike, with domestic economy mostly in line with projections.

- Remarks from RBNZ Gov Wheeler sent NZD/USD down about 40pips below the $0.87 handle. Wheeler noted that the strong NZD level is not sustainable and also foreshadowed downward pressure on dairy prices for the next 2-3 years. Note that earlier today the latest Fonterra auction saw prices fall for the 6th consecutive event. New Zealand employment data was also mixed, as unemployment rate remained at 6.0% despite the 0.9% q/q growth in employed as participation rate rose.

- Alibaba formally filed a $1B placeholder IPO as speculated overnight. Reports indicating the company will likely raise $20B once it completes the IPO process. In the mean time, Alibaba's accompanying disclosure noted it had 136 mobile active users, 8M active sellers, 231M active buyers, and 11.3B active orders through the end of 2013. For 2013, Alibaba generated $6.5B in revenue.

- Australia economic data was largely disappointing, with an 8-month low in retail sales growth and a 4th consecutive contraction in AiG construction PMI. AiG noted a solid upturn in apartment building activity overshadowed by a steeper rate of contraction in engineering construction and a decline in commercial construction. ANZ economists remain upbeat however, pointing to strong exports component in anticipating a solid Q1 GDP report. AUD/USD fell about 20pips to a session-low around $0.9330.

- In notable Chinese press, former PBoC adviser Yu said CNY weakness will not last long, while CSRC announced another 32 IPO applications, bringing the total to 273 filings. China HSBC Services PMI slowed 0.5pts to 51.4, and resident economist remarked that "the service sector is still a relatively resilient part of the economy, but it is not expanding at a fast enough pace to offset the manufacturing slowdown."

***Fixed Income/Commodities/Currencies*** - (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥250B in 1-3yr JGB, ¥250B in 3-5yr JGB and ¥170B in JGB with maturity over 10-yr - (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$700M in 4.25% 2026 bonds; avg yield: 4.0050%; bid-to-cover: 4.88x - (KR) South Korea (MOF) sells 30-yr bonds at average yield of 3.775% - (KR) South Korea (MOF) sells 3-yr bonds; avg yield: 2.865%; bid-to -cover: 3.97x - (US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES: CRUDE: -1.82M (first draw in 5 weeks) v +1Me, GASOLINE: +2.45M v 0e, DISTILLATE: +763K v +1Me - SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings fall to 10,320 tonnes from 10,380 tonnes prior (first decline since Apr 29th)

***Equities*** US markets: - EA: Reports Q4 $0.48 adj v $0.10e, R$1.12B v $810Me; Raises FY14 guidance; Authorizes repurchase of up to $750M stock (8.5% of market cap); +15.9% afterhours - ARRS: Reports Q1 $0.47 v $0.45e, R$1.23B v $1.19Be; +10.9% afterhours - CZR: Announces Comprehensive Financing Plan; +7.8% afterhours - FSLR: Reports Q1 $1.10 v $0.50e, R$950M v $840Me; Exec: notes that Q2 EPS results to be significantly below consensus estimate (around $0.60e) due to timing of certain projects, but that indicates the strength of 2H 2014 [since FSLR just raised FY14 EPS guidance] - conf call; +4.1% afterhours - WPX: To Sell Certain Working Interests for $355M; +3.9% afterhours - XEC: To Acquire Cana-Woodford Assets for $497Ml to sell 50% stake in assets to Devon; +2.5% afterhours - ATVI: Reports Q1 $0.19 v $0.10e, R$772M v $689Me; +2.0% afterhours - MRO: Reports Q1 $0.88 v $0.72e, R$3.53B v $3.40Be; +1.6% afterhours - DIS: Reports Q2 $1.11 v $0.97e, R$11.7B v $11.2Be; +0.6% afterhours - GRPN: Reports Q1 -$0.01 v -$0.03e, R$757.6M v $734Me; -6.3% afterhours - FEYE: Reports Q1 -$0.53 v -$0.53e, R$74.0M v $71.6Me; Enters Agreement to acquire forensics co nPulse Technologies; No terms disclosed; -11.1% afterhours - GNC: Reports Q1 $0.75 v $0.76e, R$677.3M v $696Me; -11.4% afterhours - WFM: Reports Q2 $0.38 v $0.41e, R$3.32B v $3.35Be; Exec: Have taken some steps to lower prices at our stores; "Competition has accelerated" - conf call comments; 13.9% afterhours - ZU: Reports Q1 -$0.02 v $0.01e, R$238M v $232Me; -15.2% afterhours - DTLK: Reports Q1 $0.06 v $0.16e, R$139.5M v $155Me; -19.1% afterhours

Notable movers by sector: - Consumer Discretionary: Giordano International 709.HK -% (H1 guidance) - Financials: Evergrande Real Estate 3333.HK -3.0% (Apr sales results); Financial Street Holdings 000402.CN +5.5% (controlling shareholder acquires stake on May 6th) - Industrials: Gem-Year Industrial 601002.CN +10.0%, Jinxi Axle 600495.CN +7.7%, China Railway Construction Corp 601186.CN +3.5%, CNR Corp 601299.CN +1.9%, CSR Corp 601766.CN +2.3% (China Premier Li in talks with Africa on high-speed railway) - Healthcare: Hangzhou Tigermed Consulting 300347.CN +2.8% (to acquire assets)

After Hours Summary: EA +15.2%, ARRS +11.1%, OXGN +7.2%, DTLK -19.1%, RLOC -19%, ZU -16.2% following earnings/guidance

After Hours Gainers: Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings: EA +15.2%, ARRS +11.1%, OXGN +7.2%, STXS +6.7%, JIVE +6.5%, POWL +6%, ENPH +5.8%, GALE +5.7%, TRMR +4.7%, WPX +3.9%, PRCP +3.7%, FSLR +3.5%, ATVI +3.1%, EXAM +3%, IAG +2.6%, SGMO +2.6%, TRIP +2.3%, PXD +2.2%, MRO +1.6%, NYMT +1%, RDN +0.9%, PBPB +0.7%, DIS +0.6%, ETP +0.4%, CYH +0.4%, PSEC +0.4%, MCHP +0.3%, LYV +0.3%, APT +0.2%, AGU +0.2%

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: CZR +7.8% (announced comprehensive financing plan designed to position Caesars Entertainment operating co for stock listing and significant deleveraging; CEOC launches first lien incremental term loan and refinancing of all 2015 maturities), WPX +3.9% (to sell certain working interests for $355 million; co also reported earnings), NSTG +3.5% (received Canadian market approval for its Prosigna Breast Cancer Prognostic Gene Signature Assay), HCA +1.6% (seeing reports that co is the lead bidder for Healthscope), SPG +0.9% (Board approved spin-off of Washington Prime Group), MMLP +0.7% (priced public offering of 3.6 mln common units at $41.51 per unit)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings: DTLK -19.1%, RLOC -19%, AEGR -16.2%, ZU -16.2%, AVNW -16.1%, OCLR -15%, WFM -14.1%, GNC -10.9%, EXTR -10.9%, FEYE -10.6%, TRMB -8.8%, GRPN -6.4%, BEAT -4.2%, AWR -2.8%, FTR -2%, MYGN -1.4%, AVNR -1.3%, ARWR -1.1%, ACAD -0.8%, LBTYA -0.7%, SSNI -0.5%, CODE -0.3%, ALL -0.1%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: EXTR -10.9% (announced departure of COO Chris Crowell; co also reported weak Q3 results), AOL -2.1% (agreed to acquire Convertro for a closing purchase price of approximately $101 mln), ETFC -1.5% (Reuters reporting that SEC is considering investigating brokerages handling of retail orders)

Closing Market Summary: Stocks Slide as Russell 2000 Surrenders 200-Day Moving Average

Equity indices finished the Tuesday session on their lows after spending the entire day in negative territory. The S&P 500 tumbled 0.9% with nine sectors registering losses, while the Russell 2000 fell 1.6%, settling below its 200-day moving average for the first time since November 2012.

Stocks were pressured from the get-go as index futures slid to their pre-market lows ahead of the opening bell. While the early slide was not brought on by a particular news item, it served as a reflection of th defensive sentiment in the foreign exchange market where the yen rallied to its best level in three weeks. The dollar/yen pair notched a session low in the 101.50 area, before inching up to 101.65 into the close.

The cautious posture was also visible in the Treasury market as the 10-yr note climbed off its overnight low into the New York open and continued into the afternoon. As a result, the 10-yr note added four ticks, sending its yield lower by two basis points to 2.59%. Once the session got going, dip-buyers tried to force a turnaround, but were unable to do so as some of the top-weighted sectors kept the pressure on the broader market.

Most notably, the financial sector (-1.4%) underperformed for the second consecutive day. Influential components like Bank of America (BAC 14.73, -0.35), Citigroup (C 46.36, -0.82), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 53.34, -0.88) lost between 1.6% and 2.3%, while AIG (AIG 50.54, -2.18) plunged 4.1% after reporting a bottom-line beat on revenue that missed estimates.

Elsewhere, the discretionary sector (-1.4%) also posted a loss larger than 1.0% amid broad weakness. Retailers (XRT -1.7%) and homebuilders (ITB -2.0%) played a part in the underperformance, while Office Depot (ODP 4.83, +0.66) surged 15.8% after beating earnings estimates.

Also of note, the technology sector (-1.2%) held up a bit better than financials and discretionary shares, but was unable to stay out of the bottom third of today's leaderboard. Chipmakers, however, had a decent showing as the PHLX Semiconductor Index shed 0.4%.

Momentum names were not nearly as fortunate, with Facebook (FB 58.53 -2.69), LinkedIn (LNKD 142.33, -8.58), and Yelp (YELP 52.13, -8.06) diving between 4.4% and 13.4%, while Twitter (TWTR 31.85, -6.90) sank 17.8% on heaviest volume on record.

Just like momentum names, biotechnology lagged, sending the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 229.33, -3.95) lower by 1.7%, while the health care sector ended in line with the broader market.

On the upside, the energy sector (+0.2%) posted a slim gain to extend its quarter-to-date advance to 5.7%.

Despite the daylong selling, participation was a bit below average as less than 690 million shares changed hands at the NYSE.

Today's economic data was limited to the March Trade Balance report:

* The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $40.40 billion in March from a downwardly revised $41.90 billion (from $42.3 billion) in February, while the consensus expected the trade balance to decline to -$40.6 billion. The BEA assumed that the trade balance would increase to roughly $42.5 billion in the advance estimate to first quarter GDP. The lower-than-expected trade deficit should boost first quarter GDP growth in the second estimate. The goods deficit fell by $0.6 billion to $60.8 billion in March from $61.3 billion in February. The services surplus increased by $0.9 billion to $20.4 billion in March from $19.5 billion in February. 

Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET, while Q1 Productivity and Unit Labor Costs will be announced at 8:30 ET. The day's data will be topped off with a 15:00 ET release of the March Consumer Credit report. Also of note, Fed Chair Janet Yellen will appear before the Joint Economic Committee at 10:00 ET.

* S&P 500 +1.1% YTD  * Dow Jones Industrial Average -1.1% YTD  * Nasdaq Composite -2.3% YTD  * Russell 2000 -4.6% YTD

Walt Disney beats by $0.15, beats on revs (81.03)

Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $1.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.15 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.96; revenues rose 10.4% year/year to $11.65 bln vs the $11.24 bln consensus.  Cable: Operating income at Cable Networks increased $250 mln to $2.0 bln for the quarter due to growth at ESPN and the domestic Disney Channels and higher equity income from A&E Television Networks. Higher operating income at ESPN was due to increased affiliate revenues and decreased programming and production costs, partially offset by lower advertising revenue. The increase in affiliate revenues was due to contractual rate increases and a reduction in revenue deferrals as a result of changes in contractual provisions related to annual programming commitments, partially offset by a decrease as a result of the sale of ESPN UK in the fourth quarter of the prior year. Parks: Parks and Resorts revenues for the quarter increased 8% to $3.6

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BN 05/06 16:41 *BOFA MERRILL LYNCH, JPMORGAN PLACING SAINT-GOBAIN SHARES BN 05/06 16:40 *WENDEL SAYS WILL RETAIN 12% IN SAINT-GOBAIN BN 05/06 16:39 *WENDEL SELLING 24M SAINT-GOBAIN SHARES FOR ABOUT EU1B BN 05/06 16:38 *WENDEL TO SELL 4.3% STAKE IN SAINT-GOBAIN

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Wendel Group to Sell ~EU1 Billion Stake in Saint-Gobain 2014-05-06 16:55:02.888 GMT

By Ruth David and Sarah Jones May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Wendel group is selling 24m shares in Saint-Gobain, or 4.3%, via an accelerated bookbuild, according to a statement. * BofA, JPMorgan are placing the shares which are being offered at EU42-42.5 apeice, according to the terms obtained by Bloomberg News * Wendel says will retain 12% in Co.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Ruth David in London at +44-20-3525-8095 or rdavid9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sarah Jones at +44-20-7673-2419 or sjones35@bloomberg.net