Fed’s Brainard suggests greater confidence in reaching inflation target; tailwinds could speed up rate hike pace (Note: Brainard is seen as dovish by some)
Fed’s Brainard and Kaplan comment on possible trade impact
AUD/JPY underperforms: Q4 GDP below ests
RBA Gov Lowe reiterates there is no strong case for a near-term policy adjustment; likely that next RBA rate move will be up
China PBoC conducts 1-year MLF facility at unchanged rate; skips daily OMO for third straight session
China Finance Ministry official suggested drafting process has started for property tax bill
Cold weather conditions in the US Northeast in focus: NY’s JFK to cancel ~250 flights on Wed
BoJ Dep Gov Nominees continue testimonies
India’s government starts to question banks on business man Nirav Modi amid fraudulent transactions scandal.
Australia/New Zealand
ASX 200 opened -0.2%: closed: -1%
ASX 200 Energy Index -1.4%, Financials -1.1%, Utilities -1%
(AU) Australia Q4 GDP Q/Q: 0.4% v 0.5%e (slowest since Q1 2017); Y/Y: 2.4% v 2.5%e
(AU) Australia Treasurer Morrison: Q4 GDP data shows Australia not immune to global influences; Net exports were the main drag on the data
(AU) RBA Gov Lowe: Reiterates there is no strong case for a near-term policy adjustment; likely that next RBA rate move will be up – comments in Sydney
(AU) Australia sells A$500M v A$500M indicated in 4.75% April 2027 bonds, avg yield: 2.7391%, bid to cover: 3.85x
(AU) Australia PM Turnbull: Election to be held in H1 of 2019
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q4 VOLUME OF ALL BUILDINGS Q/Q: 1.4% V 1.0%E
China/Hong Kong
Shanghai opened flat, Hang Seng -0.6%
Hang Seng Materials Index -2%, Energy -1.7%, Info Tech -0.9%, Financials -0.7%, Property/Construction -0.6%
Shanghai Composite Property Sub-declines less than 1%
(CN) PBOC CONDUCTS 1-YEAR CNY105.5B MEDIUM-TERM LENDING FACILITY (MLF) OPERATION: Interest rate unchanged at 3.25%
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips OMO for third straight session
(CN) China Vice Finance Min: NPC and other departments are drafting the property tax bill; Will reasonably design property tax system
(CN) China Feb New Loans may decline m/m to less than CNY1T compared to Jan record level of CNY2.90T (in-line with analyst views) – China Securities Journal
(CN) China End 2017 Outstanding Government Debt CNY29.95T; Debt-to-GDP ratio 36.2% v 36.7% y/y – MOF
(CN) China announces new rules related to equity stakes in insurers, to take effect on April 10th
(CN) China: To release surveyed jobless rate data monthly from April
Looking Ahead: Looking Ahead: China FX reserves expected to be released during European session
Japan
Nikkei 225 opened -0.7%; closed -0.8%
TOPIX Iron & Steel Index -2.2%, Electric Appliances -1.1%
(JP) BoJ Dep Gov Nominee Wakatabe: Won’t automatically propose more easing, but does not exclude proposing extra easing
(JP) BoJ Dep Gov Nominee Amamiya (‘Mr BoJ’): Reiterates Japan economy making progress toward CPI goal
(JP) Japan Feb Official Reserve Assets: $1.26T v $1.27T prior
(JP) Ripple said to develop blockchain payment app with banks in Japan – US financial press
Looking Ahead: Looking Ahead: Japan Q4 GDP revision due for release on Thursday
Korea
Kospi opened +0.1%
Samsung Electronics rises over 2%
(KR) North Korea said to be open to denuclearize if regime safety is guaranteed and not use any weapons against South Korea – financial press
(KR) South Korea said to closely monitor for possible rise in FX volatility – South Korea Press
(KR) South Korea parliament to hold hearing on Bank of Korea (BoK) Gov Lee on Wed, March 21st – South Korean Press
(KR) US imposes new sanctions on North Korea in relation to the assassination of Kim Jong Nam; Kim Jong Nam was the half brother of North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un. – FT
Other Asia
(TW) Taiwan’s Advanced Semiconductor Engineering [2311.TW] said to receive orders from Bitmain, says a Taiwanese press report
North America
US equity markets closed mostly higher: Dow flat, S&P500 +0.3%, Nasdaq +0.6%, Russell 2000 +1%
S&P500 Materials +1.1%; Utilities -1.3%
(US) White House economic adviser Gary Cohn to resign; Expected to leave in next few weeks – NYT
( US) Andrew Puzder said to be considered as replacement for Cohn, says US financial press; Separate report suggests Adviser Peter Navarro and Larry Kudlow are said to be the top two candidates to replace Cohn
(US) President Trump said that he will be making a decision soon on the appointment of a new Chief Economic Advisor, says ‘many’ people want the job.
(US) Fed Brainard (voter): Has greater confidence Fed to achieve 2% inflation target; tailwinds could speed up pace of rate hikes
(US) Fed’s Kaplan (non-voter, dove): Trade discussion has not changed my outlook; Reiterates expects Fed to hike three times this year and should get started soon
(US) House Speaker Ryan: Section 232 protocol is a little broad; urges administration to make potential tariffs narrower
(US) Senate Maj Leader McConnell (R-KY): there is a lot of concern among GOP Senate caucus that steel/aluminum tariffs could spark trade war
(US) OPEC Sec Gen Barkindo: supply is good but demand is even more robust – CNBC interview
(US) Weekly API Oil Inventories: Crude: +5.7M v 0.9M prior
Looking ahead: US Feb ADP Nonfarm Employment change expected to be released, along with the Bank of Canada (BoC) interest rate decision and weekly US DOE Crude Oil Inventories
Europe
(UK) EU internal report argues that UK PM May is ‘double cherry-picking’ on Brexit and calls her model unworkable; Report dismissed May’s Brexit speech as “being more about Conservative Party management than putting forward sensible solutions on trade” – UK press
Telecom Italia [TIT.IT]: Reports Q4 Rev €5.1B v €5.1B y/y
Looking Ahead: UK Annual Budget expected to be released
Levels as of 01:00ET
Hang Seng -0.9%; Shanghai Composite -0.2%; Kospi -0.2%
Equity Futures: S&P500 -1.3%; Nasdaq100 -1.2%, Dax-1.1 %; FTSE100 -0.8%
EUR 1.2402-1.2430 ; JPY 105.45-106.23; AUD 0.7771-0.7831 ;NZD 0.7275-0.7302
Feb Gold flat at $1,334/oz; Feb Crude Oil -0.8% at $62.09/brl; Mar Copper -0.4% at 3.145$/lb
