Asian Market Update

Quiet session as Asia digests FOMC

Australia's building approvals data paint a grim picture: (AU MARCH BUILDING APPROVALS MOM: -5.7% V -1.0% expected, -0.8% prior; YOY: -0.7% V -1.6% prior) Lehman Brothers chief economist Stephen Roberts said the small recovery in building approvals in the second half of 2007 had now been wiped out, which made a rate cut in the second half of this year more likely. 'Quite clearly, it's a very weak number,' he said. 'Clearly, housing activity is weak. The issue is, at what point does the Reserve Bank look at lower interest rates?'

China's April PMI boosted by strength in output and new orders: (CH APRIL PMI MANUFACTURING: 59.2 V 58.4 prior, highest reading since Jan 2005) Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the Development Research Centre, which compiles the PMI data, played down the rise and said it had to be put in the context of other figures pointing to slower growth. 'Economic growth is likely to slow further, as can be seen from the change in the sub-index for export orders,' Zhang said.

Japanese labor cash earnings in line with analyst expectations: (JP MARCH LABOR CASH EARNINGS YOY: 1.2% V 1.0% expected, 1.5% prior)

Australian manufacturing index rebounds (AU APRIL AIG PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING INDEX: 52.7 V 52.3 prior) Analysts said that Australian manufacturers were aided by strong demand for personal and recreational services and a return to growth in finance and insurance and communication services. The March's advance in the index is the first this year.

Forex survey post-FOMC: 17 out of 19 primary dealers see no cut at the Fed's next meeting, while 2 expect an interest rate cut. 13 of 19 expect no move at Aug 5. Only 9 out of 19 primary dealers say the Fed is done cutting rates.

At 0:03 EDT Japan's Nikkei is -0.50% and the S&P/ASX200 is -0.51%. The S&P futures contract barely moved since the New York close, last trading at 1,385.90. The Nikkei index looked heavy for most of the Asian session, with utilities, financials and property developers leading much of the downside. The Nikkei business daily reported that Japan's largest banks may seek to raise mortgage rates due to the rise in long-term yields, further souring sentiment. The S&P/ASX200 was dragged down by losses in bank shares, with losses among certain resource stocks limiting any rebound in Australia's benchmark index. Westpac shares failed to hold on to gains inspired by its earnings report, with many investors choosing to take profits after the bank said that bad debt charges are likely to increase. In a similar kind of pricing action, shares of Allco Finance initially traded higher on reports that the lender reached an agreement with its financiers on a bridge loan facility, but then dropped lower announcing A$1.5B in writedown losses. Markets in South Korea, China and Hong Kong are closed for a holiday.

Commodities: Nymex crude oil gained +1.14% between 18:00 EDT and 0:00 EDT, last trading at $114.75/bbl. Spot gold traded higher by +1.61%, last trading at $878.90/oz. Nymex crude oil found resistance at $115.20/bbl, while spot gold could not break above $883/oz.

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