China Premier Li Commented On Q3 GDP Ahead Of Friday’s Release Date

Oct 17 18, 06:43 GMT

General Trend:

Asian equities trade generally higher after rise on Wall St; Shanghai pares gain
Local governments in China continue to announce liquidity support measures
Japan equity markets supported by technology and financial firms
Japanese shipping companies trade lower
Financials help push the S&P ASX 200 higher
BHP declines after quarterly production update
Australia-listed Berkeley Energy drops over 25% amid concerns about uranium project in Spain
Chipmaker Nanya Technologies rises after earnings report, cut FY Capex forecast
China Premier Li is currently in the Netherlands
China cuts is holdings of US Treasuries for the 3rd consecutive month according to US Treasury data
RBA’s Debelle discussed labor market ahead of Thursday’s employment figures
Singapore exports to China decline for the 2nd straight month
President Trump: My “biggest threat” is the Fed because its “raising rates too fast, and it’s too independent” – Fox interview
Wednesday’s EU/UK summit in Brussels in focus
US companies expected to report earnings on Wednesday (including afterhours) include Alcoa, SL Green and Abbott Labs
Traders still on the lookout for US Treasury’s FX report
Bank of Korea (BoK) due to hold policy decision on Thursday, some traders are looking for hawkish signal (press)

Headlines/Economic Data

Japan
Nikkei 225 opened +1.1%
4523.JP With Purdue Pharma Announce Positive Topline Results of SUNRISE 2, the Second Phase 3 Pivotal Study of Lemborexant
(JP) Reportedly Japan is going to extend subsidies for LNG shipments – Nikkei
(JP) BOJ Gov Kuroda: Globalization effects on prices differ depending on economy – BIS speech (after the close yesterday)
4901.JP Confirms Appellate Court in New York decided to end lawsuit against the company related to Xerox; The court ruling will enable Fujifilm to discuss with Xerox cooperation to fulfill the original agreement between the two companies
REITs including Orix JREIT and Daiwa House are expected to report earnings results later today

Korea

Kospi opened +1.1%
(KR) Bank of Korea (BOK) sells KRW2.5T in 2-yr bonds at 2.035%
(KR) Some traders said to be looking for ‘hawkish’ signal at Thursday’s Bank of Korea policy decision, BoK expected to raise rates by the end of 2018 – financial press
Reminder: Bank of Korea (BOK) meetings tomorrow on interest rate decision

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened closed, Shanghai Composite +1.1%
(CN) China Premier Li: Confident to reach economic goals this year; Q3 GDP will be at reasonable range
(CN) China local govt Guangdong said to be considering offering support to local listed companies – Chinese press
(CN) Beijing Hadian said to establish fund aimed at supporting listed technology companies in China – US financial press
(CN) Certain homeowners in China stage protests over declining prices – FT
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips OMO v skipped prior: Net: nil v nil prior
(CN) China PBoC set yuan reference rate: 6.9103 v 6.9119 prior
(CN) China MoF sells 2-yr bonds at 3.00% v 3.11%e, bid to cover 2.11x and 5-yr bonds at 3.29% v 3.38%e, bid to cover 2.42
(HK) Hong Kong Chief Exec Lam: HK land cannot be bought cheaply, govt is not deliberately pushing up property prices – SCMP

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened +0.6%
(AU) RBA Assist Gov Debelle: Unemployment could fall further than in past before wages increase, see employment growing a bit above trend over next 6-months; overall labor market in pretty good shape
BHP.AU Reports Q1 Waio iron ore production 69Mt v 71Mte; attributable iron ore production 61Mt v 62Mte v 64Mt y/y
ORG.AU Chairman: Affirms FY19 guidance; medium term outlook supports recommencement of dividends in FY19 – AGM
(AU) On Saturday (Oct 20th) Australia is due to hold a by-election in Wentworth (Sydney), ruling parties’ 1 seat majority in parliament in focus – financial press
(AU) Australia Sept Westpac Leading Index M/M: -0.1% v +0.1% prior
(AU) Australia sells A$1.0B v A$1.0B indicated in Nov 21 2029 bonds, avg yield 2.7298%, bid to cover: 3.1x
TRS.AU Cuts H1 Net A$10-11M (prior A$17.7M) [-40.5%]
(NZ) New Zealand swap curve is implying an ~18% probability of an RBNZ rate cut by Aug 2019 vs 24% prior amid higher than expected Q3 CPI data – US financial press

Other Asia

(SG) Singapore Sept Non-oil Domestic Exports M/M: -4.3% v -6.4%e; Y/Y: 8.3% v 11.1%e; Exports to Europe +21.6% y/y; China -17.8% y/y; US +41.5% y/y

North America

(MX) Mexico Finance Min said to be traveling to Washington DC for Treasury joint statement – US financial press
(US) Fed’s Daly (voter): inflation is effectively at Fed’s 2% target; labor market is beyond full employment and growth is robust
(US) President Trump: My “biggest threat” is the Fed because its “raising rates too fast, and it’s too independent” – Fox interview
XOM China Zhoushan City Government: In talks with Exxon for $7.0B ethylene plant, annual production capacity seen at 1.5-1.8M tons; also in talks with Honeywell to build a 10K ton/year catalyst production project

Europe

(UK) Trump administration announces intent to negotiate a trade agreement with the UK – press
(UK) Fin Min Hammond reportedly warns MPs that Britain would face £36B bill if it doesn’t agree to trade deal with EU – UK press
-(UK) EU Brexit Negotiator Barnier reportedly is open to possibly extending Brexit transition by one year in exchange for two-tier backtop to avoid Ireland border – FT
IMF: Managing Director Lagarde to ‘defer’ trip to the Middle East

Levels as of 01:15ET

Hang Seng +0.1%; Shanghai Composite -0.4%; Kospi +0.8%; Nikkei225 +1.2%; ASX 200 +1.2%
Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.0%; Nasdaq100 -0.2%, Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 -0.1%
EUR 1.1580-1.1548; JPY 112.42-112.22 ; AUD 0.7144-0.7129;NZD 0.6594-0.6579
Dec Gold -0.6% at $1,224/oz; Nov Crude Oil +0.2% at $72.08/brl; Dec Copper -0.7% at $2.76/lb