Asian Indices Trade Mixed Amid US And China Data, Return Of Japan’s Markets

General Trend:

• Asian equity markets pare losses after China trade data, US equity FUTs rise
• Nikkei 225 opened down by 0.8% after 3 day holiday, Insurance and Iron/Steel sectors are among the decliners
• Nintendo is expected to report earnings after the Nikkei close
• Fast Retailing is due to report April sales later today
• Shanghai Composite declines in early trading, Consumer Discretionary and Financial sectors are among the losers
• Sectors moving lower in Australia include Energy and Financials
• Offshore Yuan (CNH) rises, onshore yuan (CNY) was fixed stronger than the 7.10 level vs the US dollar; China reported larger than expected trade surplus
• RBA due to release quarterly statement on monetary policy on Friday (May 8th)
• Aussie PM is expected to consider whether social distancing restrictions should be relaxed [comments expected on May 8th]
• China’s Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM) sometimes holds weekly news conferences on Thursday

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

• ASX 200 opened flat
• (AU) Australia Apr AiG Performance of Services Index: 27.1 v 38.7 prior (record low)
• (AU) Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) adds A$814M to banking system through repos v A$1.16B prior
• (NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Q2 Inflation Expectation Survey: 2-year Outlook: 1.2% v 1.9% prior (record low)
• (NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) buys NZ$100M in LGFA at QE auction v NZ$100M sought v NZ$130M prior
• (NZ) New Zealand Fin Min Robertson: New Zealand budget will remain in deficit for extended time; Will remain least indebted of its peers; New Zealand Debt to increase to beyond previous targets – Pre-budget address
• (AU) Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) skips bond buying v A$600M prior
• (AU) Australia Mar Trade Balance (A$): 10.6B v 6.0Be; Exports M/M: +15.0% v -4.7% prior; Imports M/M: -4.0% v -4.3% prior

Japan

• Nikkei 225 opened -0.8%
• (JP) Japan Apr Monetary Base Y/Y: 2.3% v 2.8% prior (slowest rise since Apr 2012)
• 5938.JP To sell Permasteelisa to Atlas Holdings; no terms disclosed
• (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Apr Commercial Paper holdings ¥3.26T, +27.8% m/m; Corporate bond holdings ¥3.39T, +5.3% m/m
• 8002.JP Reports FY19/20 Net -¥197.5B v ¥230.9B y/y; Op ¥133.9B v ¥173.0B y/y; Rev ¥6.8T v ¥7.4T y/y; no buyback under current mid-term plan

Korea

• Kospi opened -0.4%
• (KR) South Korea Apr Foreign Reserves: $403.9B v $400.2B prior
• (KR) South Korea Fin Min Hong: Requests that companies retain employees and freeze investments; May is a ‘golden time’ for economic recovery
• (KR) South Korea reported to offer KRW1.5T subsidies to temporary workers who were affected by coronavirus – Yonhap
• (KR) Bank of Korea (BOK) Official: Highly likely that there will be a current account deficit in April
• (KR) South Korea Vice Fin Min Kim: Uncertainty on exports may continue; Domestic consumption data shows that decline is easing; Limited possibility of deflation

China/Hong Kong

• Hang Seng opened -0.1%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.1%
• (CN) CHINA APR TRADE BALANCE (CNY-DENOMINATED): 318.2B V 39.5BE; Exports Y/Y: +8.2% v -14.1%e; Imports Y/Y: -10.2% v -12.2%e
• (CN) CHINA APR TRADE BALANCE:$45.3B V $8.7BE; Exports Y/Y: +3.5% v -11.0%e; Imports Y/Y: -14.2% v -10.0%e
• (CN) CHINA APR CAIXIN PMI SERVICES: 44.4 V 50.1E (highest reading since Jan 2020, 3rd consecutive contraction); PMI Composite: 47.6 v 46.7 prior (highest reading since Jan 2020, 3rd consecutive month of contraction)
• 1876.HK Reports Q1 Net -$6.0M (normalized) v $259M y/y; Ajd EBITDA $171M v $558M y/y; Rev 956M v 1.6B y/y
• (CN) China said to be considering option of not setting 2020 GDP numerical target given uncertainty of coronavirus impact at the NPC meeting later this month – financial press
• (CN) Analysts say China could cut its US debt holdings in response to Trump threats related to coronavirus compensation – SCMP
• (CN) China Premier Li: China will intensify policy support to keep employment stable and safeguard people’s livelihoods – State Council meeting
• (CN) China President Xi: Huge uncertainties still linger over the pandemic, given that the momentum of its global spread has yet to be curbed and the country is still seeing infections among clusters of people in certain areas – China daily citing comments at Standing Committee meeting
• (CN) PBOC general administration department and research team: Reiterates monetary policy to keep conventional monetary policy as long as possible; ultimate objective of China’s monetary policy is “to maintain the stability of currency value and promote economic growth” – China Finance
• (CN) China National Health Commission Coronavirus Update for May 6th: 2 additional cases ( 2 imported v 2 prior) v 2 prior; Additional deaths: 0 v 0 prior; Additional Asymptomatic cases: 6 v 20 prior
• (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 7.0931 v 7.0690 prior
• (CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips Reserve Repo Operations for the 23rd consecutive session; Net CNY0B v CNY0B prior

North America

• WYNN Reports Q1 -$3.54 v -$1.05e, Rev $953.7M v $1.09Be; Suspends dividend
• TMUS Reports Q1 $1.10 v $0.90e, Rev $11.1B v $11.1B y/y
• (US) Fed’s Bostic (dove, non-voter in 2020): watching mortgage service sector for signs of stress
• (CN) Rumored that if the US Seeks renumeration for coronavirus damages it could escalate to war with China – SCMP

Europe

• (UK) UK could announce they are easing lockdown Monday; companies are warning due to social distancing means recovery will be slow – press
• (EU) EU Ambassador to China: Tensions between China and the US are not conducive to cooperative spirit we need today; China needs to show much more ambition that demonstrated so far

Levels as of 1:15ET

• Hang Seng -0.8%; Shanghai Composite -0.4%; Kospi 0.0%; Nikkei225 +0.1%; ASX 200 -0.5%
• Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.6%; Nasdaq100 +0.7%, Dax +0.9%; FTSE100 +0.1%
• EUR 1.0805-1.0792; JPY 106.30-106.00; AUD 0.6424-0.6379; NZD 0.6026-0.5995
• Commodity Futures: Gold +0.4% at $1,695/oz; Crude Oil +0.3% at $24.06/brl; Copper +0.4% at $2.35/lb