Asian Market Update: Equities take the Dectaper in stride; Yen hits 5-year lows before recovering some ground
***Observations/Insights*** - Outgoing Fed chief Bernanke is said to have succeeded in "threading the needle", delivering both the beginning of the end of "QE infinity" while still convincing the markets that any policy stimulus exit would be of a highly gradual and measure sort. Despite the $10B taper announcement and subsequent higher USD, stocks were up sharply after the Fed said the current fed funds rate will be maintained "well past the time that the unemployment rate declines below 6.5%". Asian indices are trading mixed - Nikkei225 hit 6-year highs on the heels of a steep selloff in the yen while S&P/ASX is up 1.5%. Kospi is flat, with weakness in the yen said to pose risks to South Korea's export sector. Korean markets are also disappointed with a landmark ruling that bonuses should be included when determining overtime pay, potentially lifting corporate labor costs. Shanghai Comp is also little changed, as Shibor rates continue to ratchet higher with the PBoC on the sidelines now for more than 2 weeks.
***Economic Data*** - (CN) China Jan-Nov SOE profit CNY2.15T, +8.2% y/y, Rev CNY41.9T, +11% y/y - (JP) Japan investors bought net ¥110.5B in foreign bonds last week vs bought net ¥413.2B in prior week (10th straight week of net purchases); Foreign Investors bought net ¥619.8B in Japan stocks v bought net ¥113.8B in prior week - (JP) JAPAN OCT ALL INDUSTRY ACTIVITY INDEX M/M: -0.2% V -0.3%E - (JP) Japan Iron and Steel Federation: Nov crude steel output 9.26Mt, -2.8% m/m, +8.9% y/y - (AU) AUSTRALIA NOV RBA FX TRANSACTIONS (A$): 444M V 648M PRIOR - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND NOV TRADE BALANCE (NZ$): +183.0M V -168M PRIOR (First November trade surplus since 1991) - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q3 GDP Q/Q: 1.4% V 1.1%E; Y/Y: 3.5% V 3.3%E
***Fixed Income/Commodities/Currencies*** - (CN) PBoC won't conduct open market operations (OMO) in today's session (5th consecutive session of halted operations); Zero net position this week v drained CNY37B prior - (CN) Daily Shibor fixings: O/N: 3.8460 % v 3.5880% prior (4rd consecutive rise. highest since Nov 24th); 1-week: 6.4720% v 5.9020% prior (4rd consecutive rise, multi-week high, highest since June 26th) - (CN) China Qinhuangdao coal price rises to CNY620-630/t (10th consecutive rise; highest since May) - GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 4.2 tonnes to 812.6 tonnes (lowest since Jan 2009)
- USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1183 v 6.1105 prior setting (weakest yuan setting since Dec 5th) - USD/KRW: Rises above KRW1,060; 2-week highs
- Among the majors, reaction to the Fed taper start was particularly evident in the yen pairs, sending USD/JPY, EUR/JPY, and GBP/JPY to 5-year highs above 104.30, 142.80, and 171.10 respectively. Yen-selling is consolidated in the Asian session, as traders question the validity of the spike in the absence of a sell-off in the shorter-end of the US yield curve. EUR/USD initially spiked to 1.38 before reversing to trade closer to 1.3650, while GBP/USD remains resilient ahead of the overnight release of UK retail data. NZD/USD briefly rose after better than expected Q3 GDP, but succumbed to broader USD strength. AUD/USD found support around $0.8820 - a fresh 3-year low. USD was also firmer against the Asia-Pac emerging FX - USD/KRW hit 2-week highs above 1,060 and USD/SGD hit 3-month highs above 1.2640
***Speakers/Political/In the Papers*** - (CN) China Beige Book: Economy strengthened in Q4; Companies' borrowing shrank - (CN) China PBOC Q4 survey: China bankers confidence index rise to 71.3% v 61% in Q3; China household inflation expectations rise - (CN) China MOFCOM official: Outlook for foreign trade in 2014 is difficult - China Daily - (CN) Former PBoC adviser/director of National Economic Research Institute Fan Gang reiterates that China economy has "basically completed soft-landing" - (CN) China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) to monitor banks' off-balance sheet operations - Chinese press - (JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Suga: Fed made appropriate decision based on economic data - (JP) Japan may set FY14/15 GDP target at 1.4% - financial press - (KR) South Korea vice Fin Min Choo: South Korea closely monitoring KRW/JPY rate - (KR) South Korea court ruled regular bonuses should be included when determining overtime pay, benefits; Likely to result in sharp increase in labor costs
- (US) Senate approves two-year budget agreement (as expected) - (US) Moody's: Wind-down of Fed's QE will likely lead to rates increasing globally; sees move toward normalization of monetary policy in US relatively finite, temporary impact
***Equities*** Market Snapshot (as of 04:30 GMT): - Nikkei225 +1.6%, S&P/ASX +1.5%, Kospi flat, Shanghai Composite -0.1%, Hang Seng flat, Mar S&P500 -0.2% at 1,801, Feb gold -1.2% at $1,220, Jan crude oil -0.1% at $97.71/brl
US markets: - ALIM: Enter into labeling discussions with the FDA for ILUVIEN, agree advisory committee no longer necessary; +77.7% afterhours; PSDV +58.3% afterhours - AKS: Guides Q4 $0.02-0.06 (ex tax benefits) v -$0.03e; +7.4% afterhours - SCS: Reports Q3 $0.18 (incl items) v $0.26e, R$784M v $761Me (2 ests); +4.4% afterhours - PAYX: Reports Q2 $0.43 v $0.42e, R$610.5M v $599Me; +2.0% afterhours - ORCL: Reports Q2 $0.69 (adj) v $0.67e, R$9.3B v $9.18Be; Guides Q3 Non-GAAP EPS $0.68-0.72 v $0.70e (constant currency), Non-GAAP Rev +3-7% y/y (constant currency, ex 1% FX headwind) v +4.2%e (implies $9.3-9.6B v $9.38Be) - conf call; +1.3% afterhours - TGT: Said to be hit by a theft of credit card data during Black Friday weekend - financial press; -0.4% afterhours
Notable movers by sector: - Consumer discretionary: Milan Station Holdings 1150.HK -6.3% (profit warning); Beijing Jingxi Tourism Development 000802.CN +10.0% (continues momentum on acquisition); Ohsho Food Service Corp 9936.JP -2.9% (president shot and reported dead) - Industrials: Shenzhen Techand Ecology & Environment 300197.CN +3.2%, Shanghai Safbon Water Service 300262.CN +3.2%, Beijing Water Business Doctor 300055.CN +5.7% (China calls for environment protection); Worley Parsons Ltd WOR.AU -1.6% (receives legal notice) - Financials: Simsen International Corp 993.HK +5.4% (positive profit alert); National Australia Bank Ltd NAB.AU +1.3% (comments from AGM) - Materials: Aquila AQA.AU +1.7% (Baosteel purchases shares); Toll Holdings TOL.AU +1.6% (awarded contract) - Energy: Santos Ltd STO.AU +2.5%, Origin Energy ORG.AU +1.7% (enters gas purchase & sale agreement) - Healthcare: Guilin Layn Natural Ingredient 002166.CN +3.0%, Shenzhen Neptunus Bioengineering 000078.CN +0.6%, Beijing Tiantan Biological Products 600161.CN +6.4% (Guangdong Province reports 1 new H7N9 case) - Technology: Samsung Electronics 005930.KR +1.8% (launches products)