Biden And Manchin Fiscal Talks Might Continue In 2022

Dec 21 21, 06:45 GMT

General trend

Aussie yield curve tracks the recent steepening in the US; RBA Minutes were generally in line with last week’s comments from Lowe.
Quiet session seen for USTs in Asia.
WTI Crude rises after prior drop.
US corporate earnings have been in focus: Micron and Nike rose after results/guidance.
Nikkei 225 has extended gain.
Hang Seng has remained modestly higher.
Shanghai Composite traded slightly higher during the morning session (+0.4%); Property index rose by over 3% [Fantasia reached an agreement to extend the maturity of a CNY-denominated bond].
S&P ASX 200 rises despite the slightly lower open; Energy index gains after prior drop.
South Korean chipmakers rise after figures from Micron.
(US) President Biden to make speech Tuesday [at 2:30 PM ET] on Omicron spread and new measures being taken to help those in need.
Companies due to report during the NY morning include General Mills, Rite Aid.

Headlines/Economic data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened 0.0%.
(AU) Australia Treasury: Commenced a review of the A$2B Australian Business Securitisation Fund (ABSF) facility.
(AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) DEC MEETING MINUTES: REITERATES BOARD COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING HIGHLY SUPPORTIVE MONETARY CONDITIONS, WILL BE PATIENT, Commenting on bond purchases, the first option was to reduce the pace of purchases from mid February with an expectation of a likely end point in May 2022.

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +1.3%.
4507.JP New oral drug, currently in Phase 2/3 trials, shown to have high antivirual effect on omicron variant – press.
(JP) Japan and US agree to ¥1.06T 5-year deal to host US military, avg yearly cost ¥211B, +¥10B/yr from prior agreement.
(JP) Japan Cabinet Office Releases Dec Monthly Report: Raises overall economic assessment [1st time in 17 months]: Raises view on private consumption, business outlook, and job market.
(JP) Japan Govt to enact ¥36T supplementary budget to partially finance economic stimulus, also expected to raises 2022 GDP outlook – Nikkei.

Korea

Kospi opened +0.6%.
(KR) South Korea Nov PPI M/M: 0.5% v 0.8% prior; Y/Y: 9.6% v 9.1% prior (13th consecutive month of growth).
(KR) South Korea Dec 1-20 Exports y/y: 20.0% v 27.6% prior; Imports y/y: 42.1% v 41.9% prior; Chip Exports y/y: 27.5% v 32.5% prior.

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.2%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.1%.
(CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Sells CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY10B prior and CNY10B in 14-day reverse repos v CNY10B prior; Net inject CNY10B v Net CNY10B prior.
(CN) China LPR is expected to be cut further in 2022, RRR cut is also expected in H1 – Chinese press.
(CN) China needs to better regulate live streaming industry and crackdown on tax evasion; Note this commentary follows a top influencer being fined $210M – Xinhua.
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.3729 v 6.3933 prior.
DIDI Looking at listing in Hong Kong by way of introduction – Caixin.
(CN) China PBOC sells CNY5.0B in 2.5% 6-month bills, bid to cover 4.4x.

Other

North America

(US) US reports first death from Omicron variant in Texas (unvaccinated man in his 50s with underlying health conditions) – press.
NKE Reports Q2 $0.83 v $0.63e, Rev $11.4B v $11.2Be; Sees Q3 Rev to rise low single digits y/y (v +2%e); Affirms FY22 Rev to grow mid single digits – earnings call comments.
(US) SEMI Nov North America-based Manufacturers of Semi Equipment Billings: $3.93B (record high), +5.0% m/m and +50.6% y/y.

Europe

(UK) Dec Lloyds Business Barometer: 40 v 40 prior. Businesses face into a number of headwinds and challenging trading conditions, including higher interest rates, as we move into 2022, but many remain resilient and hopeful that acute downside risks are not realized.

Levels as of 00:15ET

Hang Seng +0.6%; Shanghai Composite +0.4%; Kospi +0.7%; Nikkei225 +2.0%; ASX 200 +0.8%.
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.7%; Nasdaq100 +1.0%, Dax +0.0%; FTSE100 +1.0%.
EUR 1.1287-1.1273; JPY 113.71-113.56; AUD 0.7121-0.7099; NZD 0.6730-0.6704.
Commodity Futures: Gold -0.1% at $1,792/oz; Crude Oil +1.0% at $69.32/brl; Copper +0.2% at $4.31/lb.