Headlines/Economic Data
(KR) BANK OF KOREA (BOK) LEAVES 7-DAY REPO RATEUNCHANGED AT 1.50%; AS EXPECTED
(KR) South Korea Jan Department Store Sales Y/Y: -9.6% v 3.2% prior; DiscountStore Sales Y/Y: -20.2% v 2.2% prior
(KR) South Korea Prosecutor said to seek 30-year term and KRW118.5B fine for former President Park – South Korea Press
China/Hong Kong
Hang Seng opened +0.9%, Shanghai Composite +0.1%
Hang Seng Materials Index -2%, Property/Construction -1%, Financials -0.4%; Industrial Goods +0.7%
AIA Group, 1299.HK Reports FY17 Op $4.65B v$3.98B y/y; Annualized new premiums $6.09B v $5.12B y/y
(CN) According to China Securities Journal the PBOC is likely to raise its reverse repo rates in response to a Fed rate hike expected in March; increases will probably be small ~5bps
(CN) China Securities Regulator (CSRC) is review more companies forrestructuring – China Securities News
(CN) China to face tight balance in liquidity in March – China SecuritiesJournal
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips v CNY150B prior injection in7-day, 28-day and 63-day reverse repos prior
USD/CNY(CN) PBOC SETS YUAN REFERENCE RATE AT 6.3146 V 6.3378 PRIOR
Looking Ahead: China Feb Official Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing PMIs due to be released on Wed
Australia/New Zealand
ASX 200 opened +0.1%; closed +0.2%
ASX 200 Financials Index +0.4%; Utilities -0.5%, Telecom -0.9%
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND JAN TRADEBALANCE (NZD): -566M V 0ME; YTD -3.22B V -2.7BE
(NZ)New Zealand Jan milk production -7.4% y/y
Caltex,[+6%], CTX.AU Reports FY17 (A$) RCOP Net621M v 619Me; RCOP EBIT 935M v 945Me; Rev 21.4B v 19Be
(AU) Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Paper: Data suggests medium to long-termexpectations for real interest rates have declined in recent years
(NZ) New Zealand sells NZ$100M in 1-yr bills at 1.84%
(AU) Australia sells A$150M v A$150M indicated in Aug 21, 2040 1.25% indexedbonds, avg yield 1.0266%, bid to cover 2.37x
North America
US equity markets ended higher: Dow +1.1%, S&P500 +0.7%, Nasdaq +0.7%, Russell 2000+0.3%
S&P500 Technology +1.6%, Financials +1.5%
Apple[AAPL]: Reportedly plans to announce 3 new iPhones this fall: its largest ever high-end phone, an update of the iPhone X, and a lower priced model – press
Qualcomm [QCOM]: US CFIUS said to have started review of Broacom’s bid; Senator Cornyn (R) said to favor the review before Qualcomm’s proxy vote on March 6 – financial press
MicrosemiCorp [MSCC]: M Microchip Technology said to be near agreement to acquire the company in deal worth in the ‘mid$60s/share’ – US financial press
ProShare to reduce target exposure to certain VIX ETFs
(US) Fed’s Quarles (hawk, FOMC voter): expects further gradual rate hikes will be appropriate
(US) Treasury Sec Mnuchin: Reiterates long term a strong dollar is good for the US and we do not set policy to impact the dollar
IEA chief Birol: Do not expect decline in US oil production in the next 4-5 years
MSCC Microchip Technology said to be near agreement to acquire the company in deal worth in the ‘mid $60s/share’ – US financial press
Looking Ahead: US Jan Durable Goods and first day of Fed Chair Powell’s Testimony expected later today, along with the Weekly US API Crude Oil Inventories
Europe
(EU) Spain Fin Min de Guindos (potential ECB VP): forward guidance is highly effective in lowering rates
(GR) Greece Economy Min Papadimitriou said to resign – local media
(UK) BOE’s Cunliffe: Does not discuss monetary policy in prepared remarks
Standard Chartered [STAN.UK] Reports FY17 adj Pretax $3.0B v $3.1Be; Op $14.3B v $13.8B y/y; Resumes dividend of $0.11
Luxottica [LUX.IT]: ReportsFY17 €2.45 v €1.96 y/y, net €970M v €950Me, rev €9.2B v €9.1B y/y; Guides initial FY18 Rev +2-4%, adj Op 0.8-1.0x sales, Adj Net 1-2x sales, net debt/EBITDA 0.3-0.4x
Philips Lighting [LIGHT.NL]: Share offering said to price at €32.10/share
Looking Ahead: Feb Prelim CPI data due to be released for Germany and Spain
Levels as of 01:00ET
Nikkei225 +1.1%, Hang Seng -0.2%; Shanghai Composite -1.3%; ASX200 +0.2%, Kospi +0.2%
Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.2%; Nasdaq100 -0.2%,Dax -0.2%; FTSE100 -0.1%
EUR 1.2309-1.2342; JPY107.10.-106.78; AUD 0.7868-0.7840;NZD 0.7305-0.7274
Apr Gold +0.2% at $1,334/oz; Apr Crude Oil -0.1%at $63.83/brl; May Copper +0.1% at $3.22/lb
