Asian Market Update: Nikkei rebounds as Yen weakens ahead of Fed minutes and ADP jobs data
***Observations/Insights*** - Australia construction slows and the number of jobs vacancies falls. Retail sales and building approvals are in focus, with leading indicators hinting at further disappointment. - BOJ steps up its daily JGB purchase operations to stave off an increase in rates. - China Shibor rates continue to fall despite PBoC remaining on the sidelines amid shadow banking concerns.
***Economic Data*** - (AU) AUSTRALIA SEPT-NOV JOB VACANCIES Q/Q: -1.7% V +3.0% PRIOR - (AU) AUSTRALIA DEC AIG PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION: 50.8 V 55.2 PRIOR (3rd month of expansion; 3-month low) - (KR) South Korea prepares measures to cope with weak yen - Korean press - (KR) SOUTH KOREA NOV MONEY SUPPLY L: 0.3% V 0.8% PRIOR; M2 M/M: 0.4% V 0.4% PRIOR - (KR) SOUTH KOREA DEC BANK LENDING TO HOUSEHOLD (KRW): 480.4T V 477.5T PRIOR - (MY) MALAYSIA NOV TRADE BALANCE (MYR): 9.7B V 8.0BE
***Fixed Income/Commodities/Currencies*** - (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥250B in 1-3yr JGB, ¥250B in 3-5yr JGB, ¥400B in 5-10yr JGB and ¥2T in T-bills outright - (CN) Daily Shibor fixings: O/N: 2.8300% v 2.8750% prior (11th consecutive decline, lowest since May 15th); 1-week: 4.1260% v 4.2590% prior (5th consecutive decline) - (CN) China MoF sells CNY10B in 1-yr bonds, avg yield 4.04% - financial press - USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1079 v 6.1042 prior setting (weakest Yuan setting since Dec 25th) - (US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES: CRUDE: -7.31M v -0.5Me; GASOLINE: +5.6M v +2Me; DISTILLATE: +5.17M v +1.5Me
- USD majors are little changed ahead of the release of ADP employment data and the latest Fed meeting minutes on Wednesday. USD/JPY is the biggest mover, rising over 30pips toward the ¥105 handle, helping EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY to 0.5% gains above the ¥143 and ¥172 levels respectively. AUD/USD found support at the $0.89 handle, while NZD/USD approached $0.83, bouncing off the early US-session lows made after the announcement of the first decline in Fonterra Global Dairy Trade auction prices in 4 auctions. USD/KRW is down about 0.5% and back below KRW1,065 ahead of tomorrow's BOK rate decision.
***Speakers/Political/In the Papers*** - (CN) Beijing Dec new home sales +57.2% m/m at 11.5K units, new home prices -2.8% m/m at CNY25.8K/sqm - Centaline - (CN) According to Deovolente Realty Co, Shanghai pre-owned home sales for Dec 18.0K units , -17.3% m/m, -21% y/y - Shanghai Daily - (CN) China International Capital Corp (CICC) Chief Strategic Officer Huang: 2014 A-share returns could reach 20% - Chinese press cites 2014 China Economy Outlook Conference - (CN) China Bank of Communications (BoCom): sees China 2014 GDP target 7.8%, exports +8.5% y/y - (CN) China said to be in plans to ban smoking in public places by year end - financial press - (CN) China may face 350-500K premature deaths annually due to air pollution problems - financial press - (JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Suga reiterates South Korea is most important neighbor of Japan - (AU) Australia Dec Port Hedland exports: 29.9M tons (record high) - (NZ) New Zealand Dec new residential listings fall 40% m/m to 8.0K; record lows - Realestate.co.nz - (KR) South Korea Finance Ministry releases monthly economic assessment: Weak yen, US fiscal situation, QE persist are risks for the domestic economy
- (EU) Moody's: Risks for investors in European PIK notes to rise in 2014 - (CA) Bank of Canada (BOC) Gov Poloz: Not faced with pressure to raise rates - financial press
***Equities*** Market Snapshot (as of 04:30 GMT): - Nikkei225 +1.2%, S&P/ASX -0.1%, Kospi -0.1%, Shanghai Composite -0.4%, Hang Seng +0.8%, Mar S&P500 flat at 1,831, Feb gold -0.3% at $1,226, Feb crude oil +0.2% at $93.87/brl
US markets: - CEC: Reportedly exploring sale of the company to private equity; +11.6% afterhours - ARTC: Announces Entry into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement; agrees to $30M fine; +10.9% afterhours - APOL: Reports Q1 $1.04 v $0.90e, R$856M v $861Me; +9.7% afterhours - MU: Reports Q1 $0.77 v $0.43e, R$4.04B v $3.72Be; Remains optimistic for strong Q2; +7.1% afterhours
- WLP: Enters Agreement To Divest Of 1-800 CONTACTS Subsidiary; Financial terms not disclosed; reiterates FY13 Adj EPS of at least $8.40 v $8.51e; -0.2% afterhours - COP: Lowers Q4 production guidance to 1.475K MBOED (prior forecast 1,485-1,525 mboe/day on Nov 21st); Average production in recent quarter negatively impacted by significant weather-related downtime; -0.2% afterhours - MSFT: Ford CEO Mulally reportedly will not leave company for Microsoft; -1.3% afterhours - TCS: Reports Q3 $0.11 (adj) v $0.08e, R$188.3M v $189Me; -8.0% afterhours
Notable movers by sector: - Consumer discretionary: Belle International Holdings 1880.HK +8.6% (Q4 results) - Industrials: Shanghai Safbon Water Service 300262.CN +4.2% (awarded contract); Virgin Australia VAH.AU +0.7% (Nov results); Nissan Motor 7201.JP +4.4% (Dec China sales); Mitsubishi Motors 7211.JP -3.8% (share issuance plan) - Financials: Greentown China 3900.HK +1.3% (Dec results); Shanghai Industrial Holdings 363.HK +1.8% (stake sale in subsidiary); Seven & I Holdings Inc 3382.JP +5.2% (9M results) - Technology: Tencent Holdings 700.HK +1.4% (acquired stake in JingDong); Advanced Semiconductor Engineering 2311.TW +3.4% (Dec results); Nanya Technology Corp 2408.TW +6.8% (Dec result); Inotera Memories 3474.TW +6.2% (Dec results); Yahoo! Japan 4689.JP +8.7% (analyst action); Nintendo 7974.JP +8.9% (China lifts game console trading ban in Shanghai FTZ) - Healthcare: Celltrion Inc 068270.KR +9.5% (possible acquisition offer) - Telecom: SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings 315.HK -0.9% (profit warning) - Utilities: Guangdong Shaoneng Group 000601.CN +1.8% (FY13 guidance)