General trend
- Hang Seng rises after Friday’s drop [TECH index rebounds by over 4%].
- Shanghai Composite extended gains during morning trading [IT index outperforms; Consumer Staples index pared gain after prior drop].
- Nikkei 225 has also extended gains [Automakers rebound].
- S&P ASX 200 has lagged [Financials underperform, Resources index rises].
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened %.
- ZEL.NZ Received proposal from Ampol ar A$3.78/shr, A$5.2B; agrees period of due diligence and exclusivity.
- SKI.AU Confirms to be acquired by KKR, Ontario Teachers’ and PSP Investments consortium at A$2.95/shr.
- (AU) AUSTRALIA AUG PRELIMINARY PMI MANUFACTURING: 51.7 V 56.9 PRIOR (15th consecutive month of expansion, lowest since June 2020).
- (NZ) New Zealand PM Ardern expected to again extend lockdown past the Aug 24th planned lifting with 35 new local infections today (total now 107), will meet with press at 16:00 today.
- (NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Chief Economist Ha: Delta variant raises uncertainty, not a game changer, NZD performing as usual.
Japan
- Nikkei 225 opened +0.7%.
- (JP) JAPAN AUG PRELIMINARY PMI MANUFACTURING: 52.4 V 53.0 PRIOR (7th month of expansion).
- (JP) Japan Cabinet approval rating -3.8ppt to 25.8% – ANN poll.
- (JP) Said that Japan PM Suga will seek a dissolution of the lower house in beginning of October – Press.
- (JP) Opposition-backed candidate Takeharu Yamanaka won the Yokohama mayoral elections – Japanese press.
- (JP) Japan PM Suga: Top priority is fighting spread of coronavirus, humbly accepts the results of Yokohama Election.
- (JP) Japan July Crude Steel Production 8.01Mt v 8.11Mt m/m, +32.5% y/y.
Korea
- Kospi opened +0.9%.
- (KR) South Korea Aug 1-20 Exports y/y: 40.9% v 32.8% prior; Imports y/y: 52.1% v 46.1% prior; Chip Exports y/y: 39.8% v 33.9% prior.
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opened +1.3%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.3%.
- (CN) China Sec Journal: Said that certain provinces in China will push back issuance of special govt bonds to Dec.
- (CN) China regulators are considering forcing Chinese companies with lots of user data to hand over management and supervision of their data to a 3rd party firm if they want US IPO – press.
- (CN) China Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM): China to sign additional free trade agreements and also ‘upgrade’ existing agreements.
- (CN) China market regulator (SAMR) said to have halted over 40 IPOs in Shanghai and Shenzhen [timing uncertain], cites probe into an investment bank and law firm – US financial press.
- (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4969 v 6.4984 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.
North America
- (US) Parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast being impacted by heavy rain from hurricane/tropical storm Henri.
- (US) Treasury Sec Yellen said to have told senior White House officials she is in favor of reappointing Fed Chair Powell – US press.
- (UK) PM Johnson announces will convene special G-7 meeting on Tuesday about Afghanistan, expected to ask US President Biden to delay withdrawal of US forces – press.
Europe
- (SE) Sweden PM Lofven to step down after 7 years in November, also will step down as leader of the Social Democrats (not expected).
- (DE) ECB’s Schnabel (Germany): Expect inflation to keep rising until the end of the year, especially in Germany, but expect it to fall “significantly” in 2022 – German press.
- (UR) German chancellor Merkel says Ukraine should remain a gas transit state after 2024 and construction of Nord Stream 2; Would impose new sanctions on Moscow if necessary, in reference to potential use of Nord Stream 2 as a “weapon”.
Levels as of 01:15ET
- Hang Seng +1.8%; Shanghai Composite +1.2%; Kospi +1.5%; Nikkei225 +1.9%; ASX 200 +0.4%.
- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.4%; Nasdaq100 +0.4%, Dax +0.5%; FTSE100 +0.3%.
- EUR 1.1724-1.1693; JPY 109.93-109.72 ;AUD 0.7165-0.7121; NZD 0.6856-0.6822.
- Commodity Futures: Gold +0.3% at $1,789/oz; Crude Oil +1.8% at $63.24/brl; Copper +0.9% at $4.18/lb.
