Asian Equities Rise After Monday’s Gains In The US

General Trend:

• Japanese megabanks track gains in US financials
• Japanese real estate firms decline amid rise in Treasury yields
• Fast Retailing due to report March sales later today
• Chinese IT shares out perform in early trade, property shares lag
• China Iron Ore Futures rise, BHP sees production impact from Cyclone Veronica
• RBA: To monitor developments and set monetary policy to support sustainable growth in the economy and achieve the inflation target over time (April policy statement)
• RBA omits comment noting “central scenario is still for the Australian economy to grow by around 3 per cent this year” from April policy statement
• Kiwi (NZD) declines amid weaker business confidence
• Korean Won (KRW) declines, CPI hits lowest level since 2016
• British Pound (GBP) declines in Asian trading, UK parliament rejected Brexit motions
• Bitcoin rises over 15% during Asian session
• Australia budget expected to be released after the market close
• Australia Feb Retail Sales and Trade data due for release on Wed

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

• ASX 200 opened +0.5%
• (AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) LEAVES CASH RATE TARGET UNCHANGED AT 1.50%; AS EXPECTED
• BHP.AU Updates on Cyclone Veronica impact: To reduce FY19 production by ~6-8Mt (prior 241-250MT)
• (NZ) New Zealand Q1 NZIER Business Confidence: -29 v -17 prior; Capacity Utilization: 92.8% v 92.9% prior
• (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB BUILDING APPROVALS M/M: +19.1% V -1.8%E; Y/Y: -12.5% V -27.0%E

Japan

• Nikkei 225 opened +1.1%
• 8411.JP To cut April 2020 graduate hires by 20%, SMFG is expected to cut graduate hires by 10% – Japanese Press
• (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Q1 Tankan Survey Japan company CPI expectations: 1-yr 0.9% v 0.9% prior; 3-yr 1.1% v 1.1% prior; 5-yr 1.1% v 1.2% prior
• (JP) Japan Economy Min Motegi: Confirms first round of US trade talks to be held in April
• (JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Reiterates sales tax hike to proceed as planned
• (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.2T v ¥2.2T indicated in 0.10% (prior 0.10%) 10-yr JGBs, avg yield -0.060% v -0.002% prior, bid to cover 5.07x v 4.25x prior

Korea

• Kospi opened +0.4%
• (KR) SOUTH KOREA MAR CPI M/M: -0.2% V 0.2%E; Y/Y: 0.4% V 0.7%E (lowest since 2016); CPI Core Y/Y: 0.9% v 1.3%e
• (RU) Russian Interior Min Kolokoltsev has arrived in North Korea – KSNA
• (KR) US Sec State Pompeo: There is no timeline for negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, it could be a process of taking one step forward and one step back – Yonhap
• 005380.KR US govt opens safety investigation into 3M Hyundai and Kia vehicles due to fire risks – press
• (KR) South Korea sells KRW1.7T v KRW1.7T indicated in 30-yr bonds; avg yield 1.91% v 2.075% prior

China/Hong Kong

• Hang Seng opened +0.6%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.4%
• (CN) PBOC Adviser Sheng Songcheng: China may decided if it will cut RRR after Q1 data is released; chance is not big for China to cut [benchmark] interest rates this year – China Daily
• (CN) China PBOC seeking police investigation into rumor on RRR cut
• (CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips for 10th consecutive session: Net: CNY0 v CNY0 prior
• (CN) China PBoC sets yuan reference rate: 6.7161 v 6.7193 prior

North America

• (US) FEB ADVANCE RETAIL SALES M/M: -0.2% V +0.3%E; RETAIL SALES (EX-AUTO) M/M: -0.4% V +0.3%E

Europe

• (UK) Parliament rejects all 4 Brexit motions; Brexit Min Barclay: Default position continues to be UK to leave EU in 11 days; govt still seeks a deal
• (UK) UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Hammond expected to tell Cabinet on Tuesday the Tories may have to consider referendum since neither party or country could afford election – UK Times
• (UK) Consensus said to be rising in UK Cabinet to reluctantly accept customs union if PM May deal is rejected during a run-off final round of indicative voting – UK Press

Levels as of 1:20 ET

• Nikkei 225, +0.2%, ASX 200 +0.4%, Hang Seng +0.3%; Shanghai Composite +0.5%; Kospi +0.4%
• Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.1%; Nasdaq100 -0.1%, Dax -0.2%; FTSE100 +0.1%
• EUR 1.1218-1.1195 ; JPY 111.45-111.28 ; AUD 0.7130-0.7078 ;NZD 0.6806-0.6771
• Gold -0.3% at $1,290/oz; Crude Oil +0.3% at $61.75/brl; Copper -0.3% at /lb