Asian Mid-session Market Update: Japan officials reluctant to adopt more aggressive stance on FX volatility
***Economic Data***
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND JUNE ANZ CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX: 118.9 V 116.2 PRIOR; M/M: +2.3% (biggest increase in 5 months) V -3.2% PRIOR
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND MAY MANUFACTURING PMI: 57.1 v 56.6 PRIOR; 4-month high
- (SG) SINGAPORE MAY ELECTRONIC EXPORTS Y/Y: -6.0% V -1.4%E; NON-OIL DOMESTIC EXPORTS M/M: 16.8% V 2.0%E; Y/Y: 11.6% V -1.6%E
- (CL) CHILE CENTRAL BANK (BCCH) LEAVES OVERNIGHT RATE TARGET UNCHANGED AT 3.50%; AS EXPECTED
***Index Snapshot (as of 04:30 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 +1.7%, S&P/ASX +0.2%, Kospi +0.4%, Shanghai Composite +0.7%, Hang Seng +0.8%, Sep S&P500 +0.1% at 2,072
***Commodities/Fixed Income***
- Aug gold -0.9% at $1,287/oz, Jul crude oil +0.9% at $46.61/brl, Jul copper +0.9% at $2.07/lb
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings rise 1.7 tonnes to 902.5 tonnes; highest since Oct 2013
- (CN) PBOC SETS YUAN MID POINT AT 6.5795 V 6.5739 PRIOR
- (CN) PBoC to inject CNY40B in 7-day reverse repos; For the week, injects CNY105B v net drain of CNY175B in prior week
- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$1.0B in 2.75% Nov 2027 bonds; avg yield 2.1691%; bid-to-cover 2.06x
***Market Focal Points/FX***
- Asian equity markets have taken cue from the midday turnaround on Wall St to rally heading into the weekend. The inflection during the US hours was attributed to the reports of a tragic killing of a liberal Yorkshire MP Jo Cox who was vocally a Stay vote in Brexit referendum next week. Campaign events for both camps have been suspended in the wake of the murder, though markets perceive this as a factor in mobilizing the undecided to vote against the Brexit and thus lifting a cloud of protectionism and anti-integration movement in Europe. Some of the risk-off positions were unwound, as gold retreated by over $25 to $1,280 and S&P futures rose as much as 20pts above 2,070. In FX majors, USD/JPY was volatile, rising as much as 60pips to 104.80 on risk-off flows and speculation of more concrete measures curbing yen strength by the govt. GBP/USD saw a suspicious spike of some 70pips just after Tokyo open toward $1.43, but corrected about half of that move. AUD/USD and NZD/USD were up about 40pips and 30pips from Asia session lows above 0.74 and 0.7060 respectively but also reversed those flows in the afternoon hours.
- The possibility of Japan Fin Min intervention in FX space has risen since yesterday's BOJ decision to keep its policy settings unchanged while also upgrading views on certain segments of the economy despite the downgrade in the outlook for inflation. This signaled that the BOJ is either tolerant of economic headwinds or that the bar for further easing in negative rates / asset purchases is particularly high. Thus, govt commentary on FX becomes more likely to produce market impact, and today's reports of a meeting of MOF/BOJ/FSA officials spurred a 50pip move in USD/JPY to 104.80. Subsequent remarks from officials suggest that discussions toward an intervention are preliminary at best - Fin Min Aso reiterated that abrupt moves are not desirable and have been speculative recently, while currency chief Asakawa only acknowledged rising volatility in financial markets. USD/JPY retreated back to 104.20s in the afternoon session. Separately a Cabinet Office report from Japan maintained the assessment that economy is in a moderate recovery, cutting the view on corporate profits to "pausing improvement" while also noting CPI rising at a slower tempo.
- In China, Commerce Ministry's Shen noted research suggests that ODI is pressuring FX reserves, forcing some consideration on whether regulation of those outflows was needed. Shen added that China and US are looking to speed up investment treaty talks. Also of note, China-Japan tensions were magnified overnight after reports that a Chinese warship sailed into Japanese territorial waters for 1st time in over decade, prompting some tough rhetoric from Japan's foreign min Kishida. In Chinese press, a report noted a 2.8% q/q rise in equity financing in China in Q2.
***Equities***
US equities / ADRs:
- RDEN: Acquired by Revlon for $14/shr in all-cash transaction with enterprise value of ~$870M; +48.3% afterhours
- LL: Wins court lawsuit; Agrees to not resume sales of inventory of Chinese-made laminate flooring, testing to continue; +12.2% afterhours
- FNSR: Reports Q4 $0.29 v $0.25e, R$319M v $318Me; +10.2% afterhours
- SWHC: Reports Q4 $0.66 (adj) v $0.54e, R$221.1M v $215Me; +7.6% afterhours
- LOCK: Elliott Associates discloses 8.8% stake; has initiated dialogue with management and board - 13D filing; +3.9% afterhours
- MGM: Raises FY17 target adj EBITDA $400M (prior $300M); +3.3% afterhours
- ORCL: Reports Q4 $0.81 v $0.82e, R$10.6B v $10.5Be; Guides Q1 $0.56-0.60 v $0.59e (constant currency), Rev +2-5% y/y v +2%e (implies R$8.62-8.87B v $8.62Be); +2.0% afterhours
Notable movers:
- 600005.CN Wuhan Iron & Steel: Chairman: To cut 400K tons of capacity - Chinese press; +0.7%
- 1171.HK Yanzhou Coal CNY6B private placement; +4.5%
- St Barbara Ltd SBM.AU -9.3%; Evolution Mining Ltd EVN.AU -3.9% (lower gold prices)
- Sumitomo Forestry 1911.JP +3.7% (Daiwa upgrade)
- Stella International Holdings 1836.HK -10.9% (profit warning)
- AV Concept Holdings +2.8% (positive profit alert)