By Trade The News
Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)
- Nikkei225 -0.1%, S&P/ASX +0.4%, Kospi +0.7%, Shanghai Composite -0.4%, Hang Seng -0.1%, Jun S&P500 +0.2% at 2,099
Commodities/Fixed Income
- Jun gold -0.1% at $1,191/oz, Jun crude oil +1.0% at $61.20/brl, Jul copper flat at $2.93/lb
- (US) API Petroleum Inventories: Crude -2.0M (2nd straight draw) v 0e; Gasoline -1.6M v +0.5Me, Distillate -2.5M v +0.5Me
- (CN) China MOF sells 3-yr bond, avg yield 2.87%
- (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥70B in JGBs with maturity less than 1-yr, ¥400B in 5-10yr JGBs
- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$700B in 3.25% 2025 Bonds; avg yield: 3.01%; bid-to-cover: 3.98x
Market Focal Points/FX
- Asian indices are mixed as the global bond market rout takes a breather on technical consolidation. Investors are also awaiting the upcoming China April trade data to gauge whether additional policy easing will be required. Industrial production, retail sales, and fixed investment figures will be out in early European hours.
- NZD was volatile since the start of the session after the release of semiannual financial stability report from RBNZ. NZD/USD initially fell 30pips below 0.7340 on announcement of lending curbs on property in Auckland to require 30% LVR on bank loans, then spiked up to 0.7420 once markets observed fewer comments on high exchange rate. Later in the session, Gov Wheeler specified that he does see NZD level unsustainable and unjustified, and NZD/USD fell about 50pips to 0.7360. AUD/USD traded to its lows below 0.7970 following the release of Australia wage prices that saw multi-year lows on annualized basis.
- USD/JPY edged lower by about 20pips in early going below 119.80 on reports of a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in north Japan, however no tsunami warning was issued. Later in the day, USD/JPY hit a low of 119.70 in the wake of stronger than expected current account, which saw its biggest surplus in about 7 years.
- Shanghai Composite is one of the weaker indices in the region, following reports that regulators are moving to allow local government debt as collateral for borrowing to help stimulate investment demand. Separately, Fitch noted that high margin lending activity poses an indirect risk to banks and raises their exposure to volatility in the stock markets.
Equities
US equities / ADRs:
- MCK: Reports Q4 $2.94 v $2.75e, R$44.9B v $44.7Be; Authorizes $500M share repurchase (about 1% of market cap); +0.5% afterhours
- RENN: Reports Q1 adj -$0.03 v -$0.02 y/y, R$13.7M v $23.3M y/y; -2.4% afterhours
- GDDY: Reports Q1 Adj EBITDA $93.9M v $79.7M y/y, R$376M v $370Me; -3.3% afterhours
- OREX: Takeda asks Orexigen to pay for cost of a new heart trial – press; -10.5% afterhours
Notable movers by sector:
- Financials: Hang Seng Bank 11.HK +2.6% (sell shares in Industrial Bank); Yuzhou Properties 1628.HK -11.2% (issues new shares)
- Technology: Hoya Corp 7741.JP -2.8% (FY14/15 results)
- Industrial: China Railway Group 601390.CN +4.0% (awarded order); Isuzu Motors 7202.JP -2.2% (FY14/15 results)
- Materials: Angang Steel 000898.CN +10.0% (ThyssenKrupp to acquire stake)
- Energy: PetroChina 857.HK +0.9% (speculation to spin off pipelines)
Economic Data
- (AU) AUSTRALIA Q1 WAGE PRICE INDEX Q/Q: 0.5% (6-quarter low) V 0.6%E; Y/Y: 2.3% (17-year low) V 2.4%E
- (JP) JAPAN APR BANK LENDING (INCL TRUSTS): 2.6% V 2.7%E; BANK LENDING (EX- TRUSTS): 2.7% V 2.7%E
- (JP) JAPAN MAR CURRENT ACCOUNT: ¥2.80T (biggest surplus since Mar 2008) V ¥2.06TE; ADJ CURRENT ACCOUNT: ¥2.07T V ¥1358BE; TRADE BALANCE: ¥671B V ¥527.5BE
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA APR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 3.7% V 3.7%E
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA APR IMPORT PRICE INDEX M/M: -2.4% V +0.3% PRIOR; Y/Y:- 17.1% V -17.1% PRIOR; EXPORT PRICE INDEX Y/Y: -2.0% V +0.9% PRIOR; M/M: -6.1% V -6.8% PRIOR
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND APR FOOD PRICES M/M: -0.3% V +0.1% PRIOR
This article originally appeared on www.stockmarketsreview.com, and is reproduced here as part of our collaboration with StockMarketsReview.com
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Asia Daily Bulletin – 13/05/15
