Equities Trade Mixed Amid HK Holiday

General trend

• Nikkei has extended rise; Fast Retailing gains ahead of earnings report.
• S&P ASX 200 has also continued to rise during the session [Resources index rises]; Rio Tinto is due to issue Q3 production update on Fri (Oct 15th).
• Shanghai ended morning trading slightly higher.
• USD index trades flat after prior drop.
• TRY declines on Turkish Central Bank news.
• Companies due to report during the NY morning include Bank of America, Citi, Commercial Metals, Dominos Pizza, Morgan Stanley, Progressive Corp, UnitedHealth, US Bancorp, Walgreens, Wells Fargo.
• China’s Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM) sometimes holds weekly news conferences on Thurs.
• China PBOC generally conducts MLF operations around the 15th of the month (Fri).

Headlines/Economic data

Australia/New Zealand

• ASX 200 opened +0.7%.
• (AU) AUSTRALIA SEPT EMPLOYMENT CHANGE: -138.0K V -110.0KE; UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 4.6% V 4.8%E.
• WHC.AU Reports Q1 Managed ROM Coal production 5.2Kt v 4.5K y/y.
• (AU) Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Deputy Gov Debelle: Not any obvious change to investor appetite for Australia bonds or equities, but there is significant climate driven divestment risks – “Climate Risks and the Australian Financial System”.
• S32.AU To acquire 45% interest in Sierra Gorda Copper, the upfront cash consideration is $1.55B; additionally agreed to provide a contingent price-linked consideration of up to $500M to Sumitomo.
• (AU) AUSTRALIA OCT CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 3.6% V 4.4% PRIOR.
• (NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Bascand: Robust balance sheets yield a faster more robust recovery than expected.

Japan

• Nikkei 225 opened +0.4%.
• (JP) Japan LDP Lawmaker Yamamoto [played key role in crafting Abenomics]: Govt must compile stimulus package of at least ¥32-33T ($282-290B); BOJ should aggressively buy JGBS to help fund fiscal spending.
• (JP) Japan said to give ¥3.8B to 3 companies (FujiFilm, Shionogi and Astrazeneca) to develop coronavirus treatments, funds mainly to be used to cover clinical trial costs – Japan press.
• (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Official Noguchi: Expects clearer economic recovery starting from end of 2021, see no change in underlying price trend.
• (JP) Japan confirms has dissolved Parliament in preparation for Oct 31st election.
• Japan MoF sells ¥2.5T v ¥2.5T indicated in 0.005% 5-year JGBs; Avg Yield: -0.790% v -0.1030% prior, bid-to-cover 3.86x v 4.42x prior.

Korea

• Kospi opened +0.8%.
• (KR) South Korea Fin Min: Recent FX declines in KRW were fast, Finance Ministry is closely monitoring movements.
• (KR) South Korea Sept Import Price Index M/M: 2.4% v 1.3% prior; Y/Y: 26.8% v 22.4% prior; Export Price Index M/M: 1.0% v 1.3% prior; Y/Y: 20.2% v 18.9% prior (exports rise for the 10th consecutive month).

China/Hong Kong

• Hang Seng closed for holiday; Shanghai Composite opened -0.2%.
• (CN) CHINA SEPT CPI M/M: 1.2% V 0.3%E; Y/Y: 0.7% V 0.8%E; PPI Y/Y: 10.7% v 10.5%e (highest since 1995).
• (CN) China PBOC Gov Yi Gang: Inflation is moderate overall, reiterates prudent monetary policy will be flexible, targeted, reasonable and appropriate.
• (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4414 v 6.4612 prior.
• (CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY10B prior; Net drain CNY90B v Net drain CNY90B prior.
• (CN) China President Xi calls on officials to address aging population and step up fiscal support – Xinhua.
• (CN) China Daily: Tire makers in China said to be increasing prices due to increased costs and power cuts, some cos. may increase prices by up to 5%.

Other

• (SG) SINGAPORE MONETARY AUTHORITY (MAS) BI-ANNUAL MONETARY POLICY STATEMENT: WILL RAISE SLIGHTLY THE SLOPE OF THE S$NEER CURRENCY BAND (Not Expected).
• (SG) SINGAPORE Q3 ADVANCE GDP Q/Q: 0.8% V 1.1%E; Y/Y: 6.5% V 6.6%E.
• (TW) Taiwan Central Bank Deputy Gov Chen Nan-kuang: Central bank should not easily describe current price rising as transitory while the pandemic is causing global structural changes.
• (TW) Taiwan Defense Min: Taiwan has many foreign military exchanges; Will not strike first to cause war.

North America

• (US) Fed’s Bowman (voter): Comfortable with starting bond tapering this year, preferably in Nov.
• (US) Weekly API Crude Oil Inventories: +5.2M v +1.0M prior.
• (G7) Finance Leaders make statement on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) and digital payments: Innovation in digital money and payments can bring significant benefits but raises regulatory issues.
• (US) US Officials said to be hopeful on reaching agreement with EU Regarding steel tariffs by end of Oct.

Europe

• (EU) EU Commission presents counter-proposal on Northern Ireland Protocol; EU proposes to cut Northern Ireland customs checks and paperwork; Will not renegotiate EU court oversight.
• (EU) European Union proposes tax breaks for member states help protect their most vulnerable companies and citizens from the unprecedented surge in energy prices – press.

Levels as of 01:15ET

• Hang Seng closed for holiday; Shanghai Composite +0.0%; Kospi +1.1%; Nikkei225 +1.3%; ASX 200 +0.8%.
• Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.3%; Nasdaq100 +0.4%, Dax +0.2%; FTSE100 +0.4%.
• EUR 1.1601-1.1589; JPY 113.58-113.21; AUD 0.7394-0.7372; NZD 0.6983-0.6956.
• Commodity Futures: Gold -0.2% at $1,791/oz; Crude Oil +0.7% at $81.00/brl; Copper +1.7% at $4.57/lb.