Headlines/Economic Data
General Trend:
Samsung Electronics rallies over 5% amid planned stock split
Australian Telecoms and REITs outperform amid Q4 inflation data
Australia CPI remains below RBA target of 2-3%
China Jan PMI data mixed (manufacturing below ests, services above ests)
BoJ raises daily purchases of 3-5 year JGBs
US Fed decision later today
Japan
Nikkei 225 opened -0.4%; closed -0.8%
(JP) Japan’s Topix passes 1,900 for the first time since 1991
TOPIX Real Estate Index -1.2%, Iron & Steel -1.1%
Canon [7751.JP]: Trades higher by over 2% (guided FY Op profit above ests)
Daiwa Securities [8601.JP]: Gains over 1% after 9-month results
Chip equipment firm Tokyo Electron [8035.JP]: Declined over 3% (reported profits below ests)
(JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Summary of Opinions from Jan 22-23rd meeting: May need to consider rate adjustment if economy, prices improve
(JP) Japan Dec Prelim Industrial Production M/M: 2.7% v 1.5%e (highest since April 2017) ; Y/Y: 4.2% v 3.2%e
(JP) Bank of Japan (BoJ) Gov Kuroda: taking time to change Japan deflationary mindset; will persistently continue easing for price goal – Parliament
(JP) BoJ Deputy Gov Iwata: Still some distance from 2% inflation target; need to continue with powerful monetary easing
(JP) BOJ announcement related to daily bond buying operation: raises daily purchases of 3-5 year JGBs to ¥330B v ¥300B prior
Korea
Kospi opened -0.4%
Samsung Electronics gains over 5% amid planned stock split, final Q4 results and outlook
(KR) US ITC finds certain South Korea tapered roller bearings are being dumped – press
(KR) According to a scholar, South Korea should consider restricting imports of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) in response to US safeguard measures
(KR) SOUTH KOREA DEC INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: -0.5% V +0.1%E; Y/Y: -6.0% V -1.5%E
Samsung Electronics, 005930.KR Reports final Q4 (KRW) Net 12.0T v 12.1Te, Op 15.15T v 15.1T prelim ; Rev 65.98T v 66.0T prelim; Guides FY18 Capex to be lower y/y; Planning 50:1 stock split
China/Hong Kong
Hang Seng opened -0.5%, Shanghai Composite -0.5%
Hang Seng Information Tech Index +1%, Financials +0.6%; Energy -0.8%, Property/Construction -0.7%
(CN) CHINA JAN GOVT OFFICIAL MANUFACTURING PMI: 51.3 V 51.6E; NON-MANUFACTURING PMI: 55.3 V 54.9E
(CN) China to address price collusion in the areas of natural gas and auto – China Daily
(CN) PBoC: Skips OMO (5th straight session) v skipped prior; Net drain CNY210B v CNY240B drain prior
USD/CNY (CN) PBOC SETS YUAN REFERENCE RATE AT 6.3339 v 6.3312 PRIOR
(CN) Moody’s: New US tax cuts have limited credit implications for China and Chinese companies
(CN) China MoF sells 1-yr at 3.38%, bid to cover 2.95x and 10-yr bonds at 3.85%, bid to cover 3.09x
Looking Ahead: China Jan Caixin Manufacturing PMI due for release on Thursday
Australia/New Zealand
ASX 200 opened -0.1%; closed %
ASX 200 Telecom Services Index +1.7%, REIT +1.2%, Financials +0.2%; Resources -1%, Energy -0.9%
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q4 CPI Q/Q: 0.6% V 0.7%E; Y/Y: 1.9% V 2.0%E; TRIMMED MEAN Q/Q: 0.4% V 0.5%E; Y/Y: 1.8% V 1.8%E
(NZ) New Zealand Finance Min Robertson: Drop in business confidence is not unusual, reflects change of government; Budget to be delivered on May 17th
Sirtex Medical, SRX.AU To be acquired by Varian Medical System for A$28/shr in cash; enterprise value ~A$1.58B (~49% premium vs prior close); Varian sees deal accretive to EPS in first full year; +46%
North America
US equity markets ended broadly lower: Dow -1.4%, S&P500 -1.1%, Nasdaq -0.9%, Russell 2000 -1.0%
S&P 500 Health Care Sector -2.1%, Energy -2%
Xerox [XRX]: Gained over 7% in the afterhours: Said to be close to a deal with FujiFilm for cash and implied premium of shares, Xerox shareholders would continue to own just under 50% of the new company
Xerox [XRX]: Japan’s FujiFilm declined comment on the report
(US) US President Trump: US seeing rising wages on strength of economy; Wants Congress to produce legislation that generates at least $1.5T for new infrastructure investment. – State of the Union Address
(US) Treasury Sec Mnuchin: Reiterates target of sustained GDP growth of 3% or more; A strong dollar is in the long-term interests of the US; supports free FX markets with no intervention – Senate testimony
(US) Weekly API Oil Inventories: Crude: +3.2M v +4.8M prior
Looking Ahead: US Fed decision due on Wednesday, along with Jan ADP Nonfarm Employment Change, Jan Chicago PMI and Weekly DoE Crude Inventories
Europe
(UK) BOE Gov Carney: UK economy’s outperformance versus BOE’s Aug outlook is because of a stronger world economy and looser fiscal stance than expected
(UK) PM May confirms seeking trade deal with China – speaking on plane to China
(UK) Ahead of PM May arrival in China, she warned China it must play by global rules, including intellectual property rights, if it is to maximize new trading opportunities with Britain and the west – FT
(UK) Jan BRC Shop Price Index Y/Y: -0.5% v -0.6% prior
(UK) Jan GfK Consumer Confidence: -9 v -13e
(UK) Jan Lloyds Business Barometer: 35 v 28 prior
(EU) ECB’s Knot (Netherlands): it’s reasonable to end QE in a short taper after Sept
(DE) ECB’s Weidmann (Germany): German surplus will shrink as investment rises
(EU) ECB’s Mersch (Luxembourg) discusses limits of central bank financing in resolution proceedings
Levels as of 01:00ET
Nikkei225 -0.8%, Hang Seng -0.0%; Shanghai Composite -0.6%; ASX200 +0.3%, Kospi +0.3%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.1%; Nasdaq100 +0.1%, Dax +0.2%; FTSE100 +0.0%
EUR 1.2434-1.2397; JPY 109.09-108.69; AUD 0.8105-0.8047;NZD 0.7387-0.7327
Feb Gold +0.4% at $1,340/oz; Mar Crude Oil -0.9% at $63.91/brl; Mar Copper +0.2% at $3.19/lb
