Equity Indices Trade Generally Higher

Oct 19 21, 06:00 GMT

General trend

Hang Seng has extended advance [TECH index rises, Mainland banks trade generally higher; Property sector lags].
Evergrande bond payments and grace periods still in focus.
Shanghai Composite ended morning trading higher after the lower open [Coal, Liquor and Banks indices rise; Property index extended drop].
Nikkei has maintained modest gains; Topix Marine Transportation index outperforms.
S&P ASX 200 pared gain [Financials rise; BHP declines after issuing Q1 production update, weighs on Resources index].
NZD supported by higher short-term yields, RBNZ rate hike expectations.
AU 3-year yield later pares decline.
Analysts comment on whether the RBA will defend its 3-year yield target amid move up in yields.
BTC hits multi-year low at 20-yr JGB auction, yield also rose.
CNH rises, China due to price USD bonds later today.
Indonesia Central Bank is expected to leave rates unchanged.
Companies due to report during the NY morning include Bank of NY, Fifth Third, Halliburton, J&J, Manpower, Procter & Gamble, Philip Morris, Travelers.

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened 0.0%.
BHP.AU Reports Q1 Waio Iron Ore Production: 70.6Mt v 74.0Mt y/y; Shipments 70.8Mt v 71.0Mte; Affirms all guidance.
BXB.AU Reports Q1 Rev $1.29B v $1.19B y/y; Guides FY22 underlying net +1-2% y/y at cc; Rev +5-7% y/y at cc.
(AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) OCT MINUTES: Delta variant has interrupted recovery, in central scenario the economy will return to growth in Dec quarter and pre-Delta path in H2 2022.

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.3%.
(JP) Japan PM Kishida: North Korea fired 2 ballistic missiles, firing is extremely regrettable, we are gathering information.
(JP) Japan Deputy Chief Cabinet Sec Isozaki: North Korea missile landed in Sea of Japan, strongly protested to North Korea over launch.
(JP) Japan MoF sells ¥1.2T v ¥1.2T indicated in 0.500% 20-year JGBs, avg yield: 0.4710% v 0.4120% prior, bid to cover 2.69x v 3.20x prior (btc multi-year low).

Korea

Kospi opened +0.5%.
(KR) South Korea Joint Chief of Staff: North Korea fired unidentified projectiles to East Sea, according to Yonhap; Japan Coast Guard said North Korea may have fired a ballistic missile.
(KR) Shipbuilding cos in South Korea have exceeded their annual targets for new orders – South Korea press.

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.2%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.2%.
(CN) China’s govt advisor: PBoC should cut RRR.
(CN) China Ministry of Finance (MOF) starts 4 tranche sale of USD bonds.
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4307 v 6.4300 prior.
(CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY10B prior; Net CNY0B v Net CNY0B prior.
(HK) Macau Q3 Casino Rev (MOP) 5.96B, +155% y/y; Mass Market gaming Rev 12.8B, +403% y/y.
(CN) China National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) issues sector breakdown of previously released Q3 GDP data: Property Sector GDP -1.6% y/y.
1810.HK Exec: Will mass produce our own cars in H1 2024.

North America

(US) AUG TOTAL NET TIC FLOWS: $91.0B V $126.0B PRIOR; NET LONG-TERM TIC FLOWS: $79.3B V $2.0B PRIOR; Japan Total Holdings of US Treasuries: $1.320T v $1.310T prior (record high); China Total holding of US Treasuries: $1.047T v $1.068T prior (lowest since 2010).
IVZ.UK Will not launch Bitcoin futures ETF in immediate near term – comments on press.

Europe

SOW.DE Raises FY21 full year A&N bookings outlook -12% to -8% (prior -30% to -20%).
(UK) PM Johnson: UK does not want to turn away Chinese investment, do not see Northern Ireland problem as end of the world.
MGGT.UK UK Govt starts formal investigation of takeover by Parker Hannifin on national security concerns.

Levels as of 01:00ET

Hang Seng +1.1%; Shanghai Composite +0.7%; Kospi +0.7%; Nikkei225 +0.6%; ASX 200 +0.1%.
Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.0%; Nasdaq100 -0.0%, Dax +0.0%; FTSE100 +0.0%.
EUR 1.1655-1.1609; JPY 114.36-114.08; AUD 0.7457-0.7408; NZD 0.7131-0.7079.
Commodity Futures: Gold +0.6% at $1,775/oz; Crude Oil +0.2% at $81.81/brl; Copper +0.9% at $4.76/lb.