General Trend:
- Financials weigh on equities in Australia, AMP drops on Q1 outflows
- National Australia Bank (NAB) cut dividend and reported flat H1 profits
- Australian lithium company Kidman Resources rises over 40% on takeover offer
- Apple suppliers rise in Hong Kong after the company’s recent earnings report
- Gaming shares trade mixed in Hong Kong, April Macau Gaming Rev missed ests
- SJM Holdings rises over 10% in Hong post earnings
- Hong-Kong listed China auto companies decline amid broker commentary
- Little impact seen on Korean Won (KRW) from better CPI data, market remains focused on rate outlook
- Taiwan Manufacturing PMI contracts for 7th straight month, selling prices fall further
- Markets in China and Japan will remain closed on Friday
- Traders continue to await US Treasury’s semi-annual currency report amid ongoing trade talks
- US companies expected to report results on Thursday morning include AmerisourceBergen, Arrow Electronics, Avon, Cigna, Generac, Kellogg, Netscout Systems, PG&E Corp, Parker Hannifin, Stratasys, Teva, Tempur Sealy, Under Armour
- Bank of England (BOE) due to meet later today
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened -0.2%
- NAB.AU Reports H1 (A$) Cash profit ex-restructuring costs 3.3B v 3.3B y/y; Net interest income 6.77B v 6.75B y/y
- KDR.AU Receives offer to be acquired by Wesfarmers at A$1.90/shr for A$776M
- WOW.AU Reports Q3 (A$) Rev 14.9B v 14.3B y/y
- (NZ) New Zealand Mar Building Permits m/m: -6.9% v +1.9% prior
Japan
- Nikkei 225 closed remainder of week for holiday
- (JP) Japan PM Abe: Open to holding talks with North Korea Kim without conditions – Japan press
- 6752.JP Execs have noted that they do not want to invest more money into Tesla gigafactory until they are sure Tesla can sell Model 3 at $35K without losing money – Nikkei
Korea
- Kospi opened -0.5%
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA APR CPI M/M: 0.4% V 0.3%E; Y/Y: 0.6% V 0.4%E, Core CPI y/y: 0.9% v 0.8%e
- (KR) South Korea Apr PMI Manufacturing: 50.2 v 48.8 prior, New export orders contract for 9th consecutive month (longest decline since 2015)
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opened -0.2%; Shanghai Composite closed for remainder of week for holiday
- (US) Reportedly US/China trade deal is “possible” by next Friday – CNBC’s Tausche
- (US) Reportedly US and China nearing deal to roll back certain tariffs – Politico
- (CA) Canada Agricultural Minister: Has heard China has suspended export permits of two pork exporters in Canada
- (HK) Macau Apr Gaming Rev (MOP) 23.6B v 23.8Be v 25.8B prior; Y/Y: -8.3% v -7.6%e (largest decline in ~3 years)
- (HK) Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA): Closely watching market development, to maintain HK$ exchange rate stability
Other Asia
- (TW) Taiwan Apr PMI Manufacturing: 48.2 v 49.0 prior
- (PH) S&P raises Philippines sovereign rating to BBB+; outlook stable
North America
- (US) FOMC LEAVES TARGET RANGE UNCHANGED BETWEEN 2.25-2.50%; CUTS IOER TO 2.35% FROM 2.40%; TO STAY PATIENT ON RATES AS ECONOMY IS SOLID AND INFLATION IS MUTED
- (US) Fed Chair Powell: inflation weakness likely due to “transient” factors; some asset prices are elevated; don’t see any evidence at all of overheating economy
- (US) APR ISM MANUFACTURING: 52.8 V 55.0E; PRICES PAID: 50.0 V 55.0E (lowest Manufacturing PMI since Oct 2016)
- CAKE Reports Q1 $0.62 v $0.60e, Rev $600M v $602Me
- PRU Reports Q1 $3.00 v $3.15e
- ALL Reports Q1 $2.30 v $2.29e, Rev $11.0B v $9.78B y/y
Europe
- (UK) PM May reportedly mulls staying in the EU customs union in order to secure a deal with Labour – FT
- World Gold Council (WGC): Q1 global gold demand was ~1.05K tons, +7% y/y; notes continued growth in buying by central banks
Levels as of 1:20 ET
- Nikkei 225, closed, ASX 200 -0.7%, Hang Seng +0.5%; Shanghai Composite closed; Kospi +0.3%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 flat; Nasdaq100 +0.1%, Dax -0.6%; FTSE100 -0.3%
- EUR 1.1210-1.1193 ; JPY 111.66-111.32 ; AUD 0.7029-0.7010 ;NZD 0.6640-0.6617
- Gold -0.7% at $1,275/oz; Crude Oil -0.3% at $63.44/brl; Copper +0.4% at $2.802/lb