Asian Indices Opened Higher After US Gains Amid Recent Fed Statement

Jul 30 20, 06:18 GMT

General Trend:

Property index rises over 2% in Hong Kong, tech firms also rise
Standard Chartered Q2 adj pretax beat ests, revs rose y/y
CanSino [developing coronavirus vaccine] rose by over 9% in HK, priced A-share offering
Shanghai Health Care index rises over 1.9%, China is expected to begin its 3rd round of bulk drug purchases in late Aug
Japanese equities lag as USD/JPY remains near ¥105, TOPIX Banking index drops over 1.7% after earnings from SMFG; Nomura’s results support Brokerage index
Singapore banks decline after central bank requested cap on dividends
China’s Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM) sometimes holds weekly news conferences on Thursday
Companies expected to report during the NY morning include Cigna, Comcast , ConocoPhillips, DuPont, International Paper, Kellogg , Eli Lilly, MasterCard, Moody’s, Procter & Gamble, UPS, Valero Energy, Waste Management, YUM! Brands

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened +0.2%
(AU) Australia AOFM (debt agency) CEO Nicholl: Australia will issue A$240B in debt in current FY; To rely heavily on Mid curve and 10-year bonds for new issuance; Financing tests ahead will be large, but are manageable
*(AU) AUSTRALIA Q2 EXPORTS PRICE INDEX Q/Q: -2.4% V -2.0%E; IMPORTS PRICE INDEX Q/Q: -1.9% V -3.0%E [Petroleum drove fall in both import and export prices]
*(AU) AUSTRALIA JUN BUILDING APPROVALS M/M: -4.9% V -2.8%E
(AU) Victoria state reports 723 new coronavirus cases (record) v 295 prior; 13 additional coronavirus deaths
(AU) Victoria Premier: Face masks are now mandatory across all of Victoria; Restrictions are being sent to certain regional areas of Victoria
(AU) Australia PM Morrison: Coronavirus spike in Victoria state is very concerning
(AU) Australia Treasury Official Kennedy: Reiterates Australia economy to contract ~7% in Q2
Fortescue [FMG.AU]: Reports Q4 Iron ore shipments 47.3Mt v 46.6Mt y/y; Ore Mined 57.2Mt v 57.6Mt y/y; Guides initial FY21 iron ore shipments 175-180mt (vs 178.2mt y/y), Capex $3.0-3.4B (vs $2.0B y/y
(NZ) New Zealand June Building Permits M/M: 0.5% v 35.6% prior
(NZ) New Zealand Q2 Job Ads Q/Q -31.9%
(NZ) New Zealand Debt Management Office (DMO) sells NZ$800M v NZ$800M indicated in 2025 and 2031 bond

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.4%, Shanghai Composite opened +0.2%
Standard Chartered [2888.HK]: Reports Q2 adj Pretax $1.96B v $1.53Be, Op income $8.10B v $7.70B y/y
(CN) China said to begin a 3rd round of bulk drug purchases in late Aug – financial press
(CN) China National Health Commission Coronavirus Update for July 28th: 105 additional cases v 101 prior; Additional deaths: 0 v 0 prior
(HK) Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) sells HK$3.1B into the market to defend the peg
(HK) Hong Kong reported to relax its ban on dining in restaurants, to allow Morning and Lunch services – Press
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.9902 v 6.9969 prior
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY50B in 7-day reverse repos v Injects CNY30B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net injection CNY0B v Net injection CNY30B prior
(CN) China PBOC to conduct CNY5.0B in 3-month central bank bill swap (CBS) operation on today’s session
(CN) China Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress to meet Aug 8-11th to discuss five-year plan – financial press
(CN) China NDRC Official: Reiterates welcomes US companies to expand investment in China

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.4%
(JP) Japan Finance Ministry (MOF) Official: FX stability in currency market is important; reiterates watching FX market with sense of urgency; Considering various policy tools if Yen strengthens
(JP) Tokyo reported to find at least 360 additional coronavirus cases – Press
(JP) Tokyo (Japan) Gov Koike: Infections are spreading at facilities, workplaces and during meals; Wants people to avoid going out to eat in groups
(JP) Tokyo Official: Tokyo seeing many virus infections within households
(JP) Tokyo reported to ask restaurants to shorten hours – Press
*(JP) JAPAN JUN RETAIL SALES M/M: 13.1% V +8.0%E; Y/Y: -1.2% V -5.7%E
(JP) Japan Jun Department Store and Supermarket Sales Y/Y: -3.5% v -5.5%e
(JP) Japan MOF sells ¥2.99T v ¥3.0T indicated in 0.10% 2-year JGBs, avg yield -0.1330% v -0.136% prior, bid to cover 4.56x v 4.7x prior

Korea

Kospi opened +0.5%
Samsung Electronics: Reports Q2 Final (KRW) Net 5.5T v 5.18T y/y; Op 8.15T v 6.6T y/y (vs 8.10T prelim); Rev 52.97T v 56.13T y/y (vs 52.0T prelim); Does not plan to provide full year guidance; guides Q3 DRAM shipments to remain flat; H2 server memory demand to tone down somewhat v H1; Hard to tell timing of memory price inflection point; increased inventory to respond to rush orders from clients
(KR) Bank of Korea (BOK): Will extend operating special lending facility to local banks and brokerages until November (3-month extension)
(KR) South Korea announces closure of Equities and derivatives markets on Aug 17th (Monday)
(KR) South Korea Fin Min Hong: South Korea will allow large companies to set up corporate venture capital funds

Other Asia

North America

(US) White House Chief of Staff Meadows: still not making progress in stimulus talks; now expect extra unemployment benefits to expire
(US) Sen Maj Leader McConnell (R-KY): Hopes that Republicans and democrats can reach a deal on unemployment by Friday (July 31st); Smaller package by Friday is a possibility
(US) Reportedly FDA near decision to authorize emergency use of antibody-rich blood plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients for treating people sick with the virus – press
(US) NHC issues update on Tropical Cyclone 9: Disturbance becomes Tropical Storm Isaias

Europe

Airbus [AIR.FR]: Reports H1 Net -€1.9B v +€1.2B y/y, Adj EBIT -€945M v +€2.5B y/y; Rev €18.9B v €20.27Be
(DE) US President Trump confirms to move some troops out of Germany, cites NATO fees

Levels as of 1:20 ET

Nikkei 225, -0.2%, ASX 200 +0.6% , Hang Seng +0.6%; Shanghai Composite -0.2% ; Kospi +0.3%
Equity S&P500 Futures: -0.2%; Nasdaq100 -0.2%, Dax -0.5%; FTSE100 +0.3%
EUR 1.1793-1.1762 ; JPY 105.20-104.90 ; AUD 0.7193-0.7162 ;NZD 0.6674-0.6635
Gold +0.1% at $1,955/oz; Crude Oil -0.1% at $41.19/brl; Copper -0.6% at $2.9177/lb