FTSE 100 FUTs Rise Then Pare Gains, GBP Outperforms

Dec 14 20, 06:43 GMT

General Trend

Consumer and Financial firms rise in Australia, Resource and Energy sectors lag
Topix Marine Transportation, Information/Communication and Real Estate indices are among the gainers in Japan; Toyota Motor continues to rise; Air Transportation and Brokerage firms lag
Earlier gainers in Shanghai included Consumer and Financial firms; Green stocks in focus amid comments from Xi
China’s President commented on new greenhouse gas emissions targets
Tech firms trade mixed in HK amid comments from China’s market regulator, recent Nasdaq decline
China starts to issue fines related to previously announced anti-monopoly probe
US Treasury Dept did not single out any financial firms as part of Hong Kong sanctions probe; Separately a ‘leaked’ list said to suggest that China Communist Party members hold positions at various large companies (UK press)
SolarWinds issued statement amid the reported Russian hacks related to the US Treasury and Commerce Depts.
Aussie trades generally flat ahead of RBA minutes release on Dec 15th
China Nov data points (including industrial production) due on Tuesday (Dec 15th)
China PBOC is expected to conduct MLF operation on Tues (Dec 15th)

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened +0.2%
(NZ) New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) quarterly report: The consensus is clearly for a ‘V’ shaped economic recovery in New Zealand, expect substantial upward revision to GDP forecasts over the coming year
(NZ) New Zealand Nov Performance of Service Index: 46.7 v 50.8 prior
(NZ) New Zealand PM Ardern: Cabinet agreed to look at opening Australia travel bubble by Q1 2021

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened 0.0%
(JP) Japan Cabinet approval rating 40%, -17ppt w/w due to handling of COVID pandemic – Mainichi poll
(JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Kato: COVID meeting today at 18:20 JST is to consider measures
(JP) JAPAN Q4 TANKAN LARGE MANUFACTURING INDEX: -10 V -15E; OUTLOOK SURVEY: -8 V -11E (2nd consecutive improvement)
(JP) Japan Oct Final Industrial Production M/M: 4.0% v 3.8% prelim; Y/Y: -3.0% v -3.2% prelim

Korea

Kospi opened 0.0%
096530.KR Reports FY20 YTD aggregated sales >KRW1.0T v KRW120B y/y; to raise production capacity to KRW5T v KRW2.0T current by Q1 2021; raises FY20 dividend 15x to KRW1,500
(KR) South Korea PM Chan: Level 3 social distancing is a last resort in response to coronavirus; Lv 3 needs careful review and consensus
(KR) South Korea reports 718 additional coronavirus cases, above the 400-600/day guidance

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.1%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.1%
(CN) Five Eyes countries (Australia, US, UK, Canada and New Zealand) considering a plan that would set joint retaliatory sanctions on China goods in response to China’s action on Australia goods – press
China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY20B in 7-day reverse repos v Injects CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net drain CNY30B v Net injection CNY0B prior
(CN) China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to cap prices of thermal coal fuel and approved more imports (after prices reached record highs due to mining disruptions)
China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.5361 v 6.5405 prior
(CN) CHINA NOV NEW HOMES PRICES M/M: 0.1% V 0.2% PRIOR; Y/Y: 4.0% V 4.3% PRIOR
(CN) According to a leaked list ~2.0M China Communist Party (CCP) members are working at high levels of some of the biggest banks and companies in the world, including JPM, HSBC, Qualcomm, Standard Charter and Deutsche Bank – Telegraph
(CN) Former PBOC Gov Zhou said China digital currency (digital yuan) is not a threat to global monetary systems – SCMP
(CN) Former China Rating Company, Golden Credit Rating, Executive said to be under prosecution for taking bribes – press

Other

Algeria Enegy Min (OPEC pres): Pandemic is causing a dizzying decline in global oil demand – press

North America

(US) Operation Warp Speed chief adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui: We expect to have 100M people vaccinated for COVID by the end of March – Fox (update)
(US) Russian hackers said to be behind successfully hack into US Treasury and US Dept of Commerce, confirmed by US Dept of Commerce – press
(US) Speaker Pelosi Aide: Pelosi and treasury Sec Mnuchin have spoken on Sunday afternoon for 30 mins on omnibus bill and coronavirus (Dec 13th) and will speak again on Monday
PFE Reportedly began shipping its COVID-19 vaccine to US hospitals – US financial press
TSLA Said to shut down lines for Models S, X in Fremont, California from Dec 24 to Jan 11 – press citing internal email

Europe

(UK) EU Commission President Von Der Leyen and UK PM Johnson said negotiations on a Brexit deal will continue (no specific deadline now set) – Joint Statement
(UK) PM Johnson: Brexit talks remain still very far apart on key issues and people should be prepared for a no deal Brexit, which is likely to be a WTO Brexit – press
(EU) European Council has advised members to hold their line and not entertain the idea of side deals with Britain should trade talks fail, in order to force the UK back to negotiations as soon as possible after Jan 1st – FT citing diplomatic note
(UK) Cabinet ministers putting together a £8-10B bail out package to support hardest hit industries in the case of a no deal Brexit, will include sheep farmers, fishermen, car manufacturers and chemical suppliers – UK press
(UK) Ministry of Defense has indicated that 4 Royal Navy patrol ships are on standby to protect Britain’s fishing waters in the event on a no deal Brexit – press
(UK) Ministers have told supermarkets and other essential goods providers to stock up and prepare for a no deal Brexit, expect it could take 3 months to resolve vegetable shortages and panic buying could make COVID buying look like child’s play – UK press
(UK) Economist comment that Bank of England (BOE) is running out of room on its bond buying, noting that QE at this stage will prevent tightening but will not add more stimulus – UK press

Levels as of 12:15ET

Hang Seng -0.5%; Shanghai Composite +0.4%; Kospi -0.1%; Nikkei225 +0.4%; ASX 200 +0.3%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.5%; Nasdaq100 +0.3%, Dax +0.1%; FTSE100 -0.1%
EUR 1.2145-1.2116; JPY 104.06-103.86; AUD 0.7559-0.7525; NZD 0.7104-0.7078
Commodity Futures: Gold -0.4% at $1,836/oz; Crude Oil +0.7% at $46.88/brl; Copper +0.3% at $3.54/lb