China And The US To Hold Trade Talks Later In Aug

Aug 16 18, 06:46 GMT

General Trend:

MSCI Emerging Markets equity index trades into bear market territory, later pared decline
Tencent declines post earnings
Australian telecom Telstra rises over 5%, FY18 profits above ests
South Korean chipmakers track declines in US semiconductor companies
Australia July labor data mixed , unemployment rate unexpectedly declined
China PBoC conducts first daily open market operation in 20 sessions
Japan reports unexpected adj trade deficit in July, exports to the US again decline

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened -0.3%
ASX 200 Resources index -2.1%, Energy -1.7%; Telecom +5.1%, Financials +0.2%
(AU) AUSTRALIA JULY EMPLOYMENT CHANGE: -3.9K V +15.0KE; UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.3% V 5.4%E (close to 6-year low)
(AU) Australia Aug Consumer Inflation Expectation: 4.0% v 3.9% prior
(NZ) New Zealand sells NZ$150M v NZ$150M in April 2037 bonds, bid to cover: 2.47x, avg yield: 2.8887%

China/Hong Kong

Shanghai Composite opened -1.2%, Hang Seng -1.7%
Hang Seng Info Tech index -2.3%, Energy -1%, Industrial Goods -0.7%, Financials -0.5%; Telecom +1.2%, Consumer Goods +1%, Services +1%, Property/Construction index +0.9%
(CN) Shanghai Composite trades below 2,681 (lowest level in ~2.5 years)
(CN) China Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM): China Vice Commerce Min to visit the US for trade talks in late Aug, to meet with US Treasury Undersecretary Malpass
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): To inject CNY40B in 7-day reverse repos; Net: CNY40B injection
(CN) CHINA PBOC SETS YUAN REFERENCE RATE: 6.8946 V 6.8856 PRIOR
(CN) China NDRC: Reiterates China consumer prices to be reasonable range; Bankruptcy filings by Chinese companies are rising in 2018
(CN) China should be cautious about the rapid rise in mortgages – Chinese Press
(CN) China faces risk in the rising exposures of banks to the property market – Chinese Press
(CN) China said to tell bad debt managers to resolve P2P risks – financial press
HSBC: Said to lower HKD and Yuan deposit rates in Hong Kong – HK Press

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened -1%
TOPIX Retail Trade index -1.2%, Iron & Steel -1.2%, Marine Transportation -1%, Electric Appliances -1%, Info & Communication -1%, Real Estate -0.9%; Securities +0.2%
(JP) JAPAN JUL TRADE BALANCE: -¥231.2B V -¥41.2BE; ADJ TRADE BALANCE: -¥45.6B V +¥20.7BE
(JP) Japan MOF sells ¥2.0T v ¥2.0T indicated in 0.10% 5-yr JGB: avg yield: -0.0760% v -0.107% prior, bid to cover: 3.95x x v 4.87x prior

Korea

Kospi opened -1.1%
(KR) Bank of Korea (BoK) sells 2-year monetary stabilization bonds (MSBs); yield 2.000%

Other

North America

US equity markets ended lower: Dow -0.5%, S&P500 -0.8%, Nasdaq -1.2%, Russell 2000 -1.3%
S&P500 Energy -3.5%, Materials -1.6%
(US) DOE CRUDE: +6.8M V -2.5ME;

Europe

(TR) IMF Official: Has not received any indication from Turkey authorities that they are considering a request for IMF financial assistance

Levels as of 01:30ET

Nikkei 225, -0.1%, ASX 200 -0.1%, Hang Seng -0.4%; Shanghai Composite flat; Kospi -0.9%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.3%; Nasdaq100 +0.4%, Dax +0.4%; FTSE100 +0.3%
EUR 1.1391-1.1335 ; JPY 110.95-110.46 ; AUD 0.7276-0.7214 ;NZD 0.6586-0.6555
Aug Gold -0.5% at $1,179/oz; Sept Crude Oil flat at $65.03/brl; Sept Copper +0.3% at $2.591 /lb