Equities Trade Mixed

Aug 31 21, 06:25 GMT

General trend

China gaming names lower on the report that China govt tightens gaming rules for teenagers/children (in line with prior policy announcements on gaming).
Hang Seng has extended decline and underperformed [Video game-related firms drop; Reported probe related to Ping An Insurance weighs on Financials; Property names drop ahead of earnings from Evergrande].
Shanghai Composite ended morning trading lower (-0.8%) [Consumer, IT and Industrial indices lagged].
Nikkei has rebounded from the opening decline [Topix Iron & Steel and Marine Transportation indices outperform; Banks and Airlines lag].
S&P ASX 200 has also moved higher [Materials and Consumer indices gain; Energy, Resources and Financial indices lag].

Headlines/Economic data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened 0.0%.
(NZ) New Zealand July Building Permits M/M: 2.1% v 4.0% prior (rises 2nd consecutive month).
HVN.AU Reports FY21 (A$) Net 841.4M v 480.5M y/y; EBITDA 1.46B v 944.7M y/y; Rev 9.72B v 8.23B y/y.
(AU) AUSTRALIA JULY BUILDING APPROVALS M/M: -8.6% V -5.0%E.
(AU) Australia Q2 Current Account Balance (A$): 20.5B v 21.4Be.

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened -0.4%.
(JP) JAPAN JULY PRELIMINARY INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: -1.5% V -2.5%E; Y/Y: 11.6% V 11.2%E.
(JP) JAPAN JULY JOBLESS RATE: 2.8% V 2.9%E; Job-To-Applicant Ratio: 1.15 v 1.12e.
(JP) Said that Japan PM Suga is considering reshuffling cabinet positions including replacing LDP Sec Nikai – Nikkei.
(JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Drafting a 3-year plan to tighten anti money laundering rules in country; Must compile high quality budget for next fiscal year (begins Apr) with eye on expenditures reform.

Korea

Kospi opened 0.0%.
(KR) South Korea July Retail Sales M/M: -0.6% v 1.4% prior; Y/Y: 7.9% v 1.6% prior.
(KR) South Korea July Industrial Production M/M: +0.4% v -0.5%e; Y/Y: 7.9% v 7.2%e.
(KR) South Korea July Cyclical Leading Index Change: -0.2 v 0.3 prior.
(KR) South Korea Vice Fin Min Lee Eog-weon: Markets are maintaining an overall stable trend after volatility in stocks and currency expanded earlier this month on concerns about possible Fed tapering and the resurgence of coronavirus.
(KR) South Korea President Moon: 2022 Budget to be KRW604.4T – Yonhap.

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened -0.1%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.3%.
(CN) CHINA AUG MANUFACTURING PMI (GOVT OFFICIAL): 50.1 V 50.2E; Non-manufacturing PMI: 47.5 v 52.0e (1st contraction in 16 months).
(CN) China SAFE (FX regulator) has been surveying companies (including banks) regarding risks related to yuan (CNY) volatility – US financial press (update).
(HK) Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) with SFC is working on centralized trade databases, that will track concentrated exposures to stocks as part of efforts to prevent excessive risk taking – FT.
(CN) China Lenders said to be experimenting with the Digital Yuan (DCNY) for purchasing funds and insurance products.
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4679 v 6.4677 prior.
(CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY50B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY50B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net inject CNY40B v Net Inject CNY40B prior.
(HK) Macau govt said to ease COVID test rules for mainland arrivals by air – press.
(CN) Said that China power companies have been asking for permission to raise rates due to increased coal prices – Press.

North America

(US) Colonial Pipeline to restart lines 1 & 2 Monday night (tonight, following shutdown related to hurricane Ida).

Europe

(EU) ECB’s Holzmann (Austria): See marginal impact from 4th wave of COVID on the economy, expect inflation rate to come down again later this year and next year.
(UK) Aug Lloyds Business Barometer: 36 v 30 prior.
(AT) Austria Fin Min Bluemel calls on EU countries to return to more conservative budget policies, most recent wave of COVID will require less stimulus – press.

Levels as of 01:15ET

Hang Seng -0.8%; Shanghai Composite -0.4%; Kospi +1.0%; Nikkei225 +1.1%; ASX 200 +0.6%.
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.3%; Nasdaq100 +0.3%, Dax +0.1%; FTSE100 +0.2%.
EUR 1.1825-1.1795; JPY 109.99-109.83; AUD 0.7315-0.7289; NZD 0.7038-0.6995.
Commodity Futures: Gold +0.3% at $1,817/oz; Crude Oil -0.2% at $69.08/brl; Copper -0.4% at $4.36/lb.