General Trend:
- Asian equity markets trade mixed as traders digest the BoJ decision
- Samsung Electronics expects H2 results to be driven by memory and flexible OLEDs
- BoJ announced forward guidance, left yield curve control target unchanged; to raise purchases of ETFS which track the TOPIX (as speculated)
- Japan JGB yields move lower in the aftermath of the BoJ rate decision: 40-year yield down over 8bps, near 0.88%
- Japan jobless rate rises for the first time since Feb, job-to-applicant ratio hits highest level since 1974
- Japan prelim June industrial production misses ests
- China July official PMIs decline amid ‘trade war’
- China central bank skipped open market operation for the 8th straight session
- PBOC fixed the yuan slightly weaker
- New Zealand July ANZ business confidence hits the lowest level since 2008
- Rio Tinto expected to report H1 results on Wed
- Apple is due to report Q3 results on Tuesday after the US close
- Japanese companies which may report earnings include Honda, Sony, Nintendo, Panasonic, Renesas, Resona, Yamato Holdings, ANA Holdings, Japan Airlines, Kyocera, Takeda, JFE Holdings and Start Today
Headlines/Economic Data
Japan
- Nikkei 225 opened -0.3%
- (JP) BOJ TWEAKS POLICY TO ENHANCE FLEXIBILITY; adjusts ETF allocation (as speculated); Cuts amount to which negative rate applies, starts forward guidance
- (JP) JAPAN JUN JOBLESS RATE: 2.4% V 2.3%E; Job-To-Applicant Ratio: 1.62 v 1.60e (highest level since January 1974)
- (JP) JAPAN JUN PRELIM INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: -2.1% V -0.3%E; Y/Y: -1.2% V 0.6%E
- (JP) Japan 10-year JGB yield trades above 0.105% before BOJ
- (JP) JAPAN JUN ANNUALIZED HOUSING STARTS: 915K V 960KE; Y/Y: -7.1% V -2.5%
Korea
- Kospi opened -0.1%
- (KR) Analysts note that downturn in South Korea economic indicators point to GDP being weaker in H2, which may make it hard to meet 2018 target of 2.9% – Korean press
- (KR) South Korea Aug Business Survey: Manufacturing: 74 v 81 prior (17-month low); Non-manufacturing: 76 v 81 prior
- (KR) South Korea Jun Industrial Production m/m: -0.6% v -0.9%e; y/y: -0.4% v 0.7%e
- (KR) North Korea said to have built new missiles after summit with Trump – press
- (KR) South Korea Jun Construction Output y/y: -7.7% v 0.0% prior
- Samsung Electronics, 005930.KR Reports final Q2 (KRW) Net 11.0T v 11.1Te, Op 14.9T v 14.8T prelim, Rev 58.5T v 58.0T prelim
- 005930.KR Exec: Chip unit still focused on mid and long term profitability; FY19 will see memory chi[ market to remain stable, with strong server demand – conf call comments
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opened -0.2%, Shanghai Composite -0.1%
- (CN) Yuan may fluctuate at low level in short term – China Securities Journal
- (CN) CHINA JUL OFFICIAL GOVT MANUFACTURING PMI: 51.2 V 51.3E; NON-MANUFACTURING PMI: 54.0 V 54.9E (weakest reading since Aug 2017); COMPOSITE PMI 53.6 V 54.4 PRIOR
- (CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips OMO for the 8th consecutive session; Net drains CNY30B v drains CNY130B prior
- (CN) China PBoC sets yuan reference rate at 6.8165 v 6.8131 prior
- (BR) Brazil Pres Temer: talked with China Pres Xi about barriers to sugar and poultry trade
- (CN) China to raise penalties on illegal online finance – Chinese Press
- (CN) China authorities are said to be slowing down rollout of China Depository Receipts (CDR) plan as companies are being slow to apply – financial press
- (CN) Moody’s: Trade restrictions will contribute to slowdown in China growth, cutting real GDP growth by around 0.3-0.5 pct points in 2019; US/China trade dispute likely to escalate further in 2018 and impact global growth
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened +0.1%
- FCG.NZ Reports Jul collections: New Zealand 13.3M v 11.8M y/y; Australia 9.9M v 8.7M y/y
- (AU) AUSTRALIA JUN BUILDING APPROVALS M/M: 6.4% V 1.0%E; Y/Y: +1.6% V -6.0%E
- (AU) Australia Foreign Min Bishop: Australia, Japan and US form partnership for infrastructure investment
- (NZ) New Zealand Jun Building Permits m/m: -7.6% v +7.1% prior
- (NZ) New Zealand Jul ANZ Activity Outlook: 3.8 v 9.4 prior; Business Confidence: -44.9 v -39.0 prior
- (AU) Australia Jun HIA New Homes Sales m/m: +2.2% v -4.4% prior
Other Asia
- (PH) Philippines Economic Chief Pernia: Risks to GDP include interest rates and disruptive capital flows
North America
- US equity markets ended lower: Dow -0.6%, S&P500 -0.6%, Nasdaq -1.4%, Russell 2000 -0.6%
- S&P500 Technology -1.6%
- TSLA Panasonic confirms to raise production capacity at gigafactory – Japanese Press
- LOGI Reports Q1 $0.34 v $0.24 y/y, Rev $608M v $530M y/y; To acquire California based Blue Microphones for ~$117M in cash
- (US) Trump Attorney Giuliani: Trump interview with Special Investigator Mueller is ‘highly unlikely’, been driven further from taking questions from Mueller
- (CA) Canada said to be rejected by US from the NAFA talks – National Post; C$ falls 0.25% against USD
Europe
- (UK) Jul GfK Consumer Confidence: -10 v -9e
- (IE) Ireland Central Bank: Trims 2018 GDP growth forecast from 4.8% to 4.7%; affirms 2019 GDP growth forecast at 4.2%
- IGY.DE E.ON said to consider merger with the company – German Press
Levels as of 01:30ET
- Hang Seng -0.6%; Shanghai Composite -0.2%; Kospi -0.1%; Nikkei225 -0.0%; ASX 200 +0.1%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.1%; Nasdaq100 +0.2%, Dax +0.1%; FTSE100 +0.0%
- EUR 1.1700-1.1719; JPY 110.77-111.43; AUD 0.7404-0.7434;NZD 0.6813-0.6833
- Aug Gold -0.1% at $1,220/oz; Sept Crude Oil -0.5% at $69.81/brl; Sept Copper +0.4% at $2.80/lb
