General trend
- Speculation has now moved to China’s loan prime rates (LPRs) following RRR cut.
- China’s Nov trade surplus missed ests amid higher imports.
- RBA seemingly downplayed omicron.
- US equity FUTs have remained higher; Intel rises during afterhours trading on Mobileye news.
- Travel stocks trade generally higher.
- Hang Seng has remained higher; TECH index rises after prior losses; HK property developers continue to announce stock offerings [Shimao Property, Logan Property].
- Shanghai Composite traded slightly higher after the easing by the PBOC, the index later pared gains; Property index rises 2%, Financials also gain.
- Nikkei 225 has extended its advance.
- S&P ASX 200 also continued to move higher; Energy and Consumer Discretionary indices outperformed.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is due to hold policy meeting on Wed (Dec 8th).
- Companies due to report during the NY morning include AutoZone, Conn’s, Designer Brands.
Headlines/Economic data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened +0.2%.
- (AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) LEAVES CASH RATE TARGET UNCHANGED AT 0.10%; AS EXPECTED; Omicron strain is a new source of uncertainty, but it is not expected to derail the recovery.
- (AU) AUSTRALIA Q3 HOUSE PRICE INDEX Q/Q: 5.0% V 5.0%E; Y/Y: 21.7% V 16.8% PRIOR.
- (NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) annual Stress test results: Major stress event could make it difficult for banks to meet higher capital requirements, but show strengthening bank resilience from last year.
Japan
- Nikkei 225 opened +0.8%.
- (JP) Japan Oct Labor Cash Earnings Y/Y: 0.2% v 0.4%e; Real Cash Earnings Y/Y: -0.7% v -0.5% prior.
- (JP) Japan Nov FX Reserves $1.41T v $1.40T prior.
- 7201.JP COO Gupta: Will follow customer demand when deciding which regions to roll out electric vehicles, we are on a good path with profits and electrification – press.
- (JP) Japan Fin Min Suzuki: FY25 primary balance target should be upheld, no need to consider a different target at this juncture – press.
- (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥900B v ¥900B indicated in 0.7% 30-year JGBs, Avg Yield: 0.6730% v 0.6830% prior, bid-to-cover: 3.21x v 3.45x prior.
Korea
- Kospi opened 0.0%.
- (KR) South Korea to front load more than 70% of budget in H1 of 2022 – Yonhap.
- (KR) South Korea Oct Current Account (BOP): $5.6B v $10.0B prior (18th consecutive surplus); Balance of Goods (BOP): $7.0B v $9.5B prior.
- 005930.KR To replace CEOs and business division heads; Appoints CFO, To merge mobile and consumer electronic divisions.
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opened +1.5%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.6%.
- (CN) CHINA NOV TRADE BALANCE (CNY-DENOMINATED): 460.7B V 575.0BE.
- (CN) CHINA NOV TRADE BALANCE $71.7B V $82.1BE; Trade Balance with US: $37.0B v $40.7B prior.
- (CN) CHINA PBOC CUTS OVERALL RESERVE REQUIREMENT RATIO (RRR) BY 50BPS; effective Dec 15th ; cut to release CNY1.2T liquidity into banking system (late session yesterday).
- (CN) China PBOC to cut relending rate by 25bps to support SME and rural sector, effective Dec 7th – China Securities Times.
- (CN) Shanghai Securities News: Property prices in China expected to remain ‘steady’ in 2022.
- Kaisa Group, 1638.HK Said to have failed to deliver apartments and pay wages in Guangzhou – China Press.
- (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.3738 v 6.3702 prior.
- (CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Sells CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY10B prior; Net drain CNY90B v Net drain CNY90B prior.
- (HK) Hong Kong Chief Exec Lam: Travel between Hong Kong and China to begin with business groups.
- (CN) China Govt Think Tank: Expects China GDP at 5.3% in 2022.
North America
- INTC Confirms Intent to Take Mobileye Public; Will retain majority stake after IPO.
- (US) Senate Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY): Will probably end up supporting reappointing Jerome Powell as Fed Chair.
- TSLA CEO Musk: Company does not need federal tax credits; Cybertruck will move volume production to 2023.
Europe
- (RU) US President Biden is considering options for potential Russia Invasion of Ukraine, including cutting Russia off of SWIFT payment system and restrictions on Russian bond trading.
- (UK) Nov BRC Sales LFL Y/Y: +1.8% v -0.2% prior.
- (HU) Hungary Central Bank Dep Gov Virag: Inflation will peak above ~7.0% in Nov, but decline will be slow starting in H2 2022; Will not hike rates weekly, but when needed. Central bank to act with sufficient force.
Levels as of 00:15ET
- Hang Seng +1.8%; Shanghai Composite -0.1%; Kospi +0.5%; Nikkei225 +2.2%; ASX 200 +1.0%.
- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.3%; Nasdaq100 +0.3%, Dax +0.4%; FTSE100 0.0%.
- EUR 1.1293-1.1276; JPY 113.68-113.40; AUD 0.7075-0.7039; NZD 0.6762-0.6737.
- Commodity Futures: Gold -0.1% at $1,777/oz; Crude Oil +1.0% at $70.20/brl; Copper -0.4% at $4.32/lb.
