Mixed Equity Trading Session For Asia Amid Holiday In Japan

Jul 23 21, 06:53 GMT

General trend

US equity FUTs have remained modestly higher.
S&P ASX 200 has traded generally flat [Financial, Resources and Energy indices decline; Consumer indices rise].
Hang Seng has declined after the higher open [TECH index drops over 1.5%; Financial and Property shares also trade weaker]; Sportswear firms underperform.
Shanghai Composite has also moved lower [Consumer Staples index declines over 2%].
Companies due to report during the NY morning include Air Canada, American Express, Gentex, Honeywell, Kimberly-Clark, Regions Financial, Roper Technologies, Schlumberger, Sensient Technologies.

Headlines/Economic data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened flat.
(AU) AUSTRALIA JUL PRELIMINARY PMI MANUFACTURING: 56.8 V 58.6 PRIOR (14TH MONTH OF EXPANSION); PMI Services: 44.2 v 56.8 prior (1st contraction in 11 months; lowest reading since May 2020).
(AU) Australia New South Wales (NSW) Premier: Coronavirus situation in parts of Sydney considered national emergency; Will not be able to lift restrictions in Sydney by Jul 30th.
(AU) Australia sells A$700M v A$700M indicated in 4.25% April 2026 bonds, avg yield: 0.5124%, bid to cover 6.60x.
(NZ) New Zealand to close the Trans Tasman travel bubble for at least 8-weeks; cites risks from the COVID Delta variant.

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.1%, Shanghai Composite -0.1%.
Shengjing Bank [2066.HK]: Local Govts in China support State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to increase stake in company.
(US) Deputy Sec of State Sherman to meet with China’s Wang Yi; the talks are expected to be held on Sun and Mon (Jul 25-26th) – financial press [from Jul 21st].
(CN) Certain China banks have tightened mortgage lending in various cities (including Guangzhou and Chengdu); local gov’ts have increased measures aimed at curbing home prices – Chinese press.
(CN) China Nanjing has raised Lukou region to a high risk area due to coronavirus outbreak.
(CN) China to appropriately increase local govt bond quotas in central provinces – financial press.
(CN) China Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM): to launch anti-dumping probe related to oriented steel from Japan, South Korea and EU from Jul 23rd [after prior measures expired].
(CN) China State Planner (NDRC): China aiming to install >30GW of new energy storage by 2025.
(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 sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4650 v 6.4651 prior.

Japan

Korea

Kospi opened +0.1%.
(KR) South Korea to extend social distancing measures for additional 2 weeks (Was scheduled to end July 26th [Monday]) – Yonhap.

Other Asia

(SG) Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) says wealth tax could help deal with inequality in Singapore – Straits Times.
(TW) Taiwan Govt: will lower coronavirus alert level to level 2 starting July 27th (Tuesday).

North America

Intel [INTC]: Reports Q2 $1.28 v $1.06e, Rev $19.6B v $18.0Be; Guides Q3 Rev well ahead of ests; Raises FY21 again.
Veoneer [VNE]: Magna to acquire Company for $31.25/shr cash (Enterprise value $3.3B, equity value $3.8B).

Europe

Levels as of 01:20 ET

Nikkei 225, closed, ASX 200 flat , Hang Seng -1.1%; Shanghai Composite -0.8% ; Kospi +0.1%.
Equity S&P500 Futures: +0.3%; Nasdaq100 +0.3%, Dax +0.2%; FTSE100 +0.3%.
EUR 1.1780-1.1765 ; JPY 110.30-110.08 ; AUD 0.7402-0.7362 ;NZD 0.6990-0.6960.
Gold -0.1% at $1,803/oz; Crude Oil -0.4% at $71.66/brl; Copper +0.5% at $4.3585/lb.