Asian Equity Markets Trade Mixed

May 16 19, 06:42 GMT

General Trend:

Automakers trade mixed in Asia, reportedly Trump plans to delay auto import tariffs by up to 6 months (in line with speculation from May 8th)
Japanese mega banks trade lower after issuing guidance, weigh on Nikkei index
Softbank Group declines, WeWork reported Q1 results
Tencent declines on quarterly revenue miss
Australian iron ore producers rise, China Iron Ore Futures rise over 4% to fresh record high amid ongoing supply concerns
Australian Dollar (AUD) and bond yields decline, June rate cut bets rise after disappointing April unemployment data
China new home prices continued to accelerate in April
China holdings of US Treasuries hit lowest since 2017 in March (US TIC Flows report)

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened +0.1%
(AU) AUSTRALIA APR EMPLOYMENT CHANGE +28.4K V +15.0KE; UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.2% V 5.0%E
OSH.AU PRL 3 JV signed binding letter of intent with Santos, under the agreement Santos to acquire a 14.32% equity interest in PRL 3
SML.NZ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) registration process required to launch Munchkin’s Grass Fed infant formula in the U.S. has been put on hold

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened -0.2%
(JP) JAPAN APR PPI (CGPI) M/M: 0.3% V 0.2%E; Y/Y: 1.2% V 1.1%E
(JP) Japan LDP lawmaker Hagiuda: Japan should assess range of data including Tankan, before deciding to raise sales tax in October
(JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Dep Gov Wakatabe: project yield curve to steepen when end of deflation is in sight, exit from easy policy on balance sheet will depend on various factors such as means and order in which it exits – Diet
8411.JP Reports FY18/19 Net ¥96.6B v ¥576.6B y/y; Pretax ¥614.1B v ¥782.5B y/y; Rev ¥3.93T v ¥3.56T y/y
7201.JP Said to consider putting Renault CEO Bollore on the board – Japan press
(JP) Japan Investors Weekly Net Buying of Foreign Bonds: ¥20.8B v -¥257B prior; Foreign Buying of Japan Stocks: ¥282.5B v ¥0B prior
(JP) Japan Mar Loans and Discounts Corp y/y: 3.6% v 3.3% prior
(JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.0T v ¥2.0T prior in % coupon 5-year JGB: avg yield: -0.170% v -0.157% prior, bid to cover: 4.94x v 4.71x prior

Korea

Kospi opened +0.1%
(KR) US President Trump to visit South Korea President Moon for summit in June, expected to focus on North Korea and bilateral alliance – Yonhap
003490.KR Reports Q1 (KRW) Net -62.5B v -66.4B, Op 141B v 164B y/y, Rev 3.14T v 3.15Te
005930.KR Prosecutors searching some offices related to accounting fraud probe

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened -0.5%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.2%
(CN) CHINA APR NEW HOME PRICES M/M: 0.6% V 0.6% PRIOR; Y/Y: 10.7% V 10.6% PRIOR
(CN) Reportedly US trade delegation could head to China as early as next week, but more likely shortly after that – press
(CN) China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang: China has full confidence in its economy, which has continued to expand despite US putting protectionist measures; US president had no authority to speak on China’s economic performance and was using spurious data to make his point
BABA Reports Q1 $1.28 v $1.05e, Rev $13.9B v $13.5Be
700.HK Reports Q1 (CNY) Net 27.2B v 19.4Be, Op 36.7B v 30.7B y/y, Rev 85.5B v 88.7Be
(CN) China Press Front-Page Commentary: Reiterates yuan will maintain basic stability due to fundamentals
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips for 5th consecutive session: Net injection: CNY0B v drain CNY10B prior
(CN) China PBoC sets yuan reference rate: 6.8688 v 6.8649 prior

Other

North America

(US) MAR NET LONG-TERM TIC FLOWS -$28.4B V $51.9B PRIOR; TOTAL NET TIC FLOWS: -$8.1B V -$21.6B PRIOR; China Total holding of US Treasuries: $1.12T v $1.130T prior (lowest Level of China holdings of US treasuries since 2017)
(US) Pres Trump signed executive order banning the purchase or use of communications technology that poses a national security risk (as expected)

Europe

(IR) Iran Foreign Minister Zarif: Reiterates remains committed to Iran nuclear deal; Iran exercises ‘maximum restraint’ despite US withdrawal from nuclear deal – comments from Tokyo
(IR) US Pres Trump looking for diplomatic way to resolve tensions with Iran – US Press

Levels as of 1:20 ET

Nikkei 225, -0.8%, ASX 200 +0.4%, Hang Seng +0.1%; Shanghai Composite +0.3%; Kospi -1%
Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.4%; Nasdaq100 -0.5%, Dax -0.5%; FTSE100 -0.1%
EUR 1.1211-1.1201 ; JPY 109.60-109.33 ; AUD 0.6933-0.6892 ;NZD 0.6574-0.6548
Gold -0.1% at $1,296/oz; Crude Oil +0.7% at $62.44/brl; Copper -0.3% at $2.739/lb