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Asian Equity Indices Generally Pare Gains

General trend

  • S&P ASX 200 Resources index declines for 3rd straight session
  • Financials decline in Shanghai and HK amid recent focus on Huarong’s yuan-denominated bonds; Property names also trade generally lower after press report related to property tax trials
  • Tencent drops over 3% after reporting Q1 earnings
  • Companies due to report during the NY morning include Booz Allen Hamilton

Headlines/Economic data

Australia/New Zealand

  • ASX 200 opened flat.
  • (AU) Australia Preliminary Apr Retail Sales M/M: 1.1% v 0.5%e.
  • (AU) AUSTRALIA MAY PRELIMINARY PMI MANUFACTURING: 59.9 V 59.7 PRIOR (12th month of expansion, record high); PMI Services: 58.2 v 58.6 prior (9th month of expansion).
  • (NZ) New Zealand Fin Min Robertson: Want to see a return to a sustainable fiscal position; Too soon to set target for net debt.
  • (NZ) New Zealand sells NZ$300M v NZ$300M indicated in May 2024, May 2028 and April 2037 nominal bonds.

China/Hong Kong

  • Hang Seng opened +0.5%, Shanghai Composite +0.1%.
  • (CN) CASS (govt think tank) Researcher said China could consider selecting Shenzhen and Hainan as the places to conduct trials related to property tax reform – China Sec Journal.
  • (CN) Follow Up: Said that China Industry Groups have urged domestic coal companies to increase production and curb prices.
  • (CN) China Internet Regulator says 105 Apps have violated data rules.
  • (CN) SCMP: Cryptocurrencies can still be purchased in China following the latest crackdown, individuals in China could still trade cryptocurrencies on overseas exchanges as of Thursday (May 20th).
  • (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4300 v 6.4464 prior.
  • (CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net CNY0B v Net CNY0B prior.
  • (CN) China PBOC sells CNY25.0B v CNY25.0B indicated in 3-month and 1-yr bills in Hong Kong.

Japan

  • Nikkei 225 opened +0.6%.
  • (JP) JAPAN APR NATIONAL CPI Y/Y: -0.4% V -0.5%E; CPI EX-FRESH FOOD (CORE) Y/Y: -0.1% V -0.2%E.
  • (JP) JAPAN MAY PRELIMINARY PMI MANUFACTURING: 52.5 V 53.6 PRIOR (4TH STRAIGHT EXPANSION); PMI Services: 45.7 v 49.5 prior (16th month of contraction).
  • (JP) Japan Govt said to not be submitting extra budget to current diet session that ends on June 16th – Press [in line].
  • (JP) Japan Econ Min Nishimura: Confirms will expand coronavirus state of emergency to Okinawa; Emergency to last from May 23rd through June 20th.
  • (JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: US proposal of 15% minimum global tax is progress; Need more discussion on topic.
  • (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) renews swap agreement with Monetary Agreement of Singapore (MAS); Size remains unchanged.
  • (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥1.2T v ¥1.2T indicated in 0.500% 20-year JGBs, avg yield: 0.4450% v 0.4380% prior, bid to cover 3.48x v 3.34x prior.

Korea

  • Kospi opened +0.3%.
  • (KR) South Korea Apr PPI Y/Y: 5.6% v 4.1% prior.
  • (KR) South Korea May 1-20 Exports y/y: 53.3% v 45.4% prior; Imports y/y: 36.0% v 31.3% prior.
  • (KR) Press conference with South Korea President Moon and US President Biden will happen at 17:00EDT on Friday (May 21st) – Press.

North America

  • (US) Fed Chair Powell: Fed will issue a report this summer on US digital currency; Fed has not decided whether it will move ahead on a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Europe

  • (UK) May GfK Consumer Confidence: -9 v -12e (highest since Mar 2020).
  • (IR) Ireland May Consumer Confidence Index: 85.8 v 77.9 prior.

Levels as of 01:20 ET

  • Nikkei 225, +0.9%, ASX 200 +0.2% , Hang Seng flat; Shanghai Composite -0.3%%; Kospi flat.
  • Equity S&P500 Futures: +0.3%; Nasdaq100 +0.3%, Dax +0.3%; FTSE100 +0.2%.
  • EUR 1.2239-1.2223 ; JPY 108.89-108.75; AUD 0.7780-0.7752 ;NZD 0.7207-0.7179.
  • Gold -0.3% at $1,877/oz; Crude Oil +0.5% at $62.26/brl; Copper -0.1% at $4.5250/lb.
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