Asian Indices Trade Mixed Amid Fed Rate Cut And Weaker China PMIs

Oct 31 19, 07:21 GMT

General Trend:

Chile President announced cancellation of planned Nov APEC Summit, US Treasury Sec Mnuchin still reiterated that China trade deal will likely be signed in Nov
Samsung rises over 1% after issuing final Q3 results and outlook; Raised guidance for NAND bit growth, specified FY19 CAPEX forecast
Apple rose over 2% in afterhours trading following earnings/outlook
Hang Seng outperforms on strength in Apple suppliers; AAC Technologies rises over 3%
Nikkei rises amid gains in heavily weighted Fast Retailing and Softbank; Banks pared losses as BoJ left rates unchanged
TOPIX Marine/Transportation index underperforms in the face of earnings reports
Japanese companies expected to report earnings include Panasonic, Nintendo, Tokyo Electron, Yamato Holdings, Start Today, Takeda, Japan Tobacco, Keyence, Kyocera and Japan Airlines
Shanghai Composite trades flat during morning session, property shares and banks decline; Telecom Services index outperforms as top Chinese carriers are expected to launch commercial 5G on Nov 1st
HSBC announced first cut in its Hong Kong prime rate in 11 years, followed rate cuts by the Fed and HKMA; The bank said the cut to take pressure off HK companies
Weaker than expected earnings from ANZ weigh on Australian market
China Finance Ministry to re-issue euro-denominated sovereign bonds after 15 year break
China Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM) sometimes holds weekly press conference on Thursdays
BoJ Gov Kuroda to hold post rate decision press conference at 6:30 GMT

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened -0.2%
ANZ.AU Reports FY19 (A$) Adj Cash Profit 6.47B v 6.5Be
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q3 IMPORT PRICE INDEX Q/Q: 0.4% V 0.5%E; EXPORT PRICE INDEX Q/Q: +1.3% V -0.5%E
(AU) AUSTRALIA SEPT BUILDING APPROVALS M/M: 7.6% V 0.0%E; Y/Y: -19.0% V -25.7%E
(NZ) Westpac now expects Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to leave OCR unchanged in Nov 2019; now expects RBNZ to cut rates in Feb 2020

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.3%
(JP) BANK OF JAPAN (BOJ) LEAVES INTEREST RATE ON EXCESS RESERVES (IOER) UNCHANGED AT -0.10%; (as expected); STRENGTHENS FORWARD GUIDANCE
(JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Quarterly Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices: cuts all GDP and CPI forecasts
(JP) Japan Sept Preliminary Industrial Production M/M: 1.4% v +0.4%e; Y/Y: 1.1% v -0.1%e
(JP) Japan Justice Min Kawai plans to resign (2nd min to resign in a week) – Japan Press
6758.JP Reports H1 Net ¥340.1B v ¥399.5B y/y; Op ¥509.9B v ¥343.5B y/y; Rev ¥4.1T v ¥4.1T y/y

Korea

Kospi opened +0.4%
(KR) Bank of Korea (BOK) Deputy Gov Yoon: Fed rate cut meets market expectation; reiterates US policy does not impact BOK policy much
(KR) South Korea Sept Industrial Production M/M: 2.0% v +0.5%e ; Y/Y: 0.4% v -1.9%e
005930.KR Reports Final Q3 (KRW) Net 6.29T v 13.15T y/y; Op 7.78T v 7.70T prelim; Rev 62.0T v 62.0T prelim

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.2%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.2%
(CN) CHINA OCT MANUFACTURING PMI (OFFICIAL): 49.3 V 49.8E; Non-Manufacturing: PMI: 52.8 v 53.6e; Composite: 52.0 v 53.1 prior
(CN) China and US top trade negotiators to hold phone conversation Friday, Nov 1st – Xinhua
(CN) China Commerce Ministry: Trade negotiations with US are going well
(HK) Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) cuts base rate by 25bps to 2.00%; following Fed rate cut; as expected
(CN) China government to make plan for robotics industry through 2035 – China Press
(CN) Bank Of China Will assist China Finance Ministry on the re-issuance of euro-denominated sovereign bonds (after 15 year break)
600500.CN China said to be planning to drop plans for a merger between ChemChina and SinoChem – FT
(CN) China People’s Daily: China will prioritize stabilizing economic growth
(HK) Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Yue: Economy is especially putting pressure on smaller companies; monetary system is stable, HIBOR may not follow Fed
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan Reference Rate: 7.0533 v 7.0582 prior
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips for fourth consecutive session; Net drains CNY60B v drains CNY200B prior
(CN) China PBoC: Has not conducted targeted MLF operations in Oct
(CN) China top 3 mobile carriers will launch commercial 5G starting Nov 1 – China media
5.HK Cuts best lending rate to 5% from 5.125% in Hong Kong (1st cut in 11-years); Cyts USD savings rate to 0.001% from 0.1% in Hong Kong

North America

(US) FOMC CUTS TARGET RANGE BY 25BPS TO 1.50-1.75%; AS EXPECTED
(US) Fed Chair Powell: Current stance of monetary policy is ‘likely to remain appropriate’ as long as model of economy continues to remain accurate; would respond accordingly if events materially affect outlook – FOMC press conf
AAPL Reports Q4 $3.03 v $2.84e, Rev $64B v $62.7Be; CEO: Optimistic that in the end there will be a US/China trade deal, that would put us in a better position, and this is factored into our guidance – media call comments
FB Reports Q3 $2.12 v $1.91e, Rev $17.7B v $17.3Be
SBUX Reports Q4 $0.70 v $0.70e, Rev $6.7B v $6.67Be; Raises Quarterly dividend 13.9% to $0.41 from $0.36 (indicated yield 1.95%)
TWTR CEO: Twitter will ban All political ads Globally; final policy to be published on 11/15

Europe

(UK) Brexit Party is said to be considering pulling out of hundreds of MP races, in potential boost to PM Johnson’s Tory Party – Financial Times
(EU) EU chief Bexit negotiator Barnier: risk of a ‘no deal’ Brexit still exists

Levels as of 1:20 ET

Nikkei 225, +0.3%, ASX 200 -0.4%, Hang Seng +1.1%; Shanghai Composite -0.2%; Kospi +0.9%
Equity Futures: S&P500 flat; Nasdaq100 +0.1%, Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 -0.1%
EUR 1.1171-1.1148; JPY 108.90-108.58 ; AUD 0.6930-0.6896 ;NZD 0.6433-0.6384
Gold +0.2% at $1,499/oz; Crude Oil -0.1% at $55.02/brl; Copper +0.3% at $2.686/lb