Headlines/Economic Data
General Trend:
USD/JPY volatility muted amid Japanese holiday
Singapore exchange falls most since Nov 2008, as exchanges in India announced plans to end licensing of data
Hong Kong property developer (Shui On Land) M&A canceled on recent ‘turbulence’ and volatility in the capital and debt markets
Energy company CNOOC to be added to Hang Seng China Enterprises Index
WTI Crude Oil Futures gain over 1% after falling below $60/bbl on Friday
Chinese airlines higher on stronger yuan
Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and South Korea will start to wind down ahead of Lunar New year holiday, starting mid-week: China’s Lunar New Year begins on Friday, Feb 16th
(CN) Moody’s Report: Says the impact of intensified regulation [in China] is no longer limited to the de-risking of the financial sector, but now starting to impact supply of credit to the real economy
Key data due later this week: US Jan CPI and Retail Sales data due to be released on Wed, Feb 14th
Australia Jan Employment Change due for release on Thursday, Feb 15th
Japan
Nikkei 225 closed for holiday
(JP) Reportedly Japan govt set to reappoint Kuroda as Gov of BOJ to a new 5-year term (as expected) – Kyodo News
(JP) Japan government said to consider promoting current BoJ Exec Dir Amamiya to the position of Deputy Gov – Japanese Media
JR East [9020.JP] union said to consider strike related to pay levels – Japan Press
Korea
Kospi opened +0.7%
Financials trade generally higher: Hana Financial, KB Financial and Industrial Bank of Korea all gain by more than 1%
Samsung Electronics gains over 1.5%
(KR) South Korea sells KRW850B 5-year bonds:pre-issuance yield 2.55%
(KR) Bank of Korea (BoK) sells KRW910B in 1-year monetary stabilization bonds(MSBs): yield 1.90%
Samsung, 005935.KR More funds of Chairman Lee Kun-hee found in borrowed name accounts -Korean press
(KR) According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association rising costs have become a growing source of concern for carmakers operating in South Korea
(KR) South Korea Trade Ministry: will seek ways to better protect investor rights from arbitrary regulations when holding talks with China to expand the scope of the two countries’ free trade agreement to the service and investment sector – Korean press
China/Hong Kong
Hang Seng opened +0.7%, Shanghai Composite +0.1%
Hang Seng Information Tech Index +2%, Services +1.6%, Consumer Goods +1.5%, Materials +1.2%; Energy -0.8%, Property/Construction -0.2%
Shanghai Property Sub-index has moved between gains and losses after dropping over 6% on Friday
(CN) China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) official: Tighter financial regulations have prompted Chinese banks to apportion greater resources to the real economy and improve the overall quality of financial services while keeping risks at controllable levels – CD
(CN) Asset manager under the State Council, China Chengtong Holdings Group Ltd Official: Planning to bring in more private capital to finance the mixed-ownership reform of the country’s State-owned enterprises
(CN) China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) reports 2017 Commercial Non-performing Loan Ratio (NPL) 1.74%
(CN) China to allow states to keep electric car subsidies and cap local subsidies at 50% of central govt level
(CN) China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) pledges there willbe an adequate supply of coal throughout the Spring Festival holiday season,after four top coal producers recently struggled to keep up with demand and raised prices
(CN) China National and Development Reform Commission (NDRC) spokeswoman: To create millions of new jobs under "employment first" policies
(CN) China PBoC: Skips Open Market Operation (OMO) for the 13th straight session
USD/CNY (CN) PBOC SETS YUAN REFERENCE RATE AT 6.3001 V 6.3194 PRIOR
(CN) China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC): Releases list of sensitive areas where it intends to restrict overseas investments, putting a specific curb on deals related to real estate, hotels, cinema, entertainment, sports clubs
Looking Ahead: China Jan New Loans data may be released during Monday’s European session
Australia/New Zealand
ASX 200 opened flat; closed %
ASX 200 Utilities Index -2%, Telecom -1%, Consumer Discretionary -0.8%, Energy -0.7%, Financials -0.6%; Resources +0.8%
(NZ) New Zealand Jan CardSpending Retail M/M: 1.4% v 0.5%e; Card Spending Total M/M: 0.6% v 0.2% prior
JPHi-FI, JBH.AU Reports H1 (A$) net 151.7M v148Me; Rev 3.69B v 3.6Be
Ansell, ANN.AU Reports H1 Net $428.2M* v$69.8M y/y, Rev $722.2M v $664M y/y
(AU) Australia starts commission to examine its banks’ misconduct – press
AUD/USD CBA sees A$ close to A$0.83 by the end of 2018
Looking Ahead: RBA Assistant Gov Ellis may speak on Tuesday
North America
(US) OMB Head Mulvaney comments ahead of US budget release: Budget to seek $3.0T cut in deficit over 10 years [**Note:President Trump is expected to release his 2019 budget proposal on Monday, Feb12th]
(US) White House: 2019 budget plan will project 3% growth; Projects 3.2% growth to 2020, 3% to 2025, and 2.8% to 2029
(US) Said that the White House is sticking with its calls for sharp cuts to non-defense programs, even after the Congress budget deal lifted spending caps on domestic spending by $300B over the next 2-yrs – Politico
(US) US budget is said to not project a balance in 10-years, according to a Washington Post report.
CDK Global [CDK]: Reportedly Carlyle Group/Silver Lake consortium are near agreement to acquire CDK Global; could be valued at over $10B – press
Fox [FOXA]: Comcast said to consider restarting approach of Fox – US financial press
Broadcom said to receive up to $100B in debt financing for bid for Qualcomm – US financial press
Europe
Ryanair [RYA.UK] CEO O’Leary warns British investors will be forced to sell stock in hard Brexit – UK press; To keep its planes flying in EU, Ryanair must demonstrate to European regulators that a majority of investors are EU citizens. Currently, 56% of shareholders are European, and within that about 20% are from the UK.
(UK) BoE Chief Economist Haldane reiterated BoE is in ‘no rush’ to raise rates– financial press
(UK) George Soros said to pledge an additional £100K for anti-Brexit group – UK Press
(DE) German Central Bank (Bundesbank): Decision to hold some currency reserves in Chinese yuan is part of a long-term strategy, and the investment will be effected as long as the preparations have been completed – Xinhua interview
(DE) Fitch affirms Germany AAA; outlook stable (from Feb 9th)
(EU) ECB’s Nowotny (Austria): Concerned about attempts by the US to politically influence the exchange rate, his was a theme addressed at Davos and will be discussed again at the upcoming G20 summit
(EU) ECB’s Visco (Italy): ECB will be patient in pursuit of its inflation target; its been difficult to push up inflation expectations; FX volatility is a major risk to the inflation outlook(from Feb 10th)
(IE) Ireland Jan Consumer Confidence Index: 110.4 v 103.2 prior
(IE) Ireland Jan Construction PMI: 61.4 v 58 prior
GKN [GKN.UK]: Expected to announce cash payout plans to shareholders this week, as it works to stave off Melrose’s £7B hostile takeover bid – FT
Looking Ahead: OPEC Monthly Report may be released during Monday’s European session
Levels as of 01:00ET
Nikkei225 closed, Hang Seng +0.6%; Shanghai Composite +0.7%; ASX200 -0.3%, Kospi +1.2%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.7%; Nasdaq100 +0.5%,Dax +0.6%; FTSE100 +0.5%
EUR 1.2297-1.2243; JPY108.93-108.56; AUD 0.7839-0.7804;NZD 0.7277-0.7239
Apr Gold +0.8% at $1,325/oz; Mar Crude Oil +1%at $59.80/brl; Mar Copper +1.1% at $3.08/lb
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