Headlines/Economic Data
General Trend:
Asian equities trade directionless after mixed US session
Japanese equities pare losses
China shakes up structure of its ministries and government departments: Move seen as attempt to limit bureaucracy and strengthen the leadership of Communist Party
National Australia Bank (NAB) suggests Feb Australia business confidence weighed down by financial market turbulence
South Korea Finance Ministry puts size on planned 50-year bond sale
Volatility in currency market subdued ahead of US Feb CPI data
China Feb Fixed Asset Investment, Industrial Production and Retail Sales due on Wednesday
Japan
Nikkei 225 opened -0.4%; closed +0.7%
TOPIX Iron & Steel Index -0.7%; Electric Appliances
(JP) Japan Fin Min Aso may skip G20 finance minister meeting in Buenos Aires this month – press
(JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Documents seem to be falsified to fit Sagawa’s testimony; will depend on Parliament situation if I will attend G20
(JP) Japan Feb PPI (CGPI) M/M: 0.0% v 0.2%e; Y/Y: 2.5% v 2.5%e
(JP) According to NHK poll PM Abe cabinet approval rating fell to 44% v 46% in Feb
(JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.2T v ¥2.2T indicated in 0.10% (prior 0.1%) 5-yr bonds; avg yield -0.108% v -0.093% prior; bid to cover 4.18x v 4.67x prior
Looking Ahead: Bank of Japan Jan Policy Meeting Minutes due for release on Wednesday
Korea
Kospi opened flat
(KR) North Korea leader Kim Jung-un would like to sign peace treaty with US and establish diplomatic relations including a US embassy in Pyongyang – financial press
(KR) South Korea Deputy PM Kim: Concerning the US tariffs on steel imports, the Govt will devote all its energy through every available channel in order to get them lifted – Korean press
(KR) South Korea to offer KRW300B in 50-yr bonds on March 15th
China/Hong Kong
Hang Seng opened -0.1%, Shanghai Composite -0.1%
Hang Seng Telecom Index -1.4%, Energy -1.4%, Property/Construction -0.5%; Financials +0.2%
(CN) China proposes to give PBOC some functions currently held by CBRC and CIRC and merge the insurance and banking regulators
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY60B v CNY90B prior in 7 and 28-day reverse repos; Net injection CNY60B v CNY90B prior
(CN) PBOC sets yuan reference rate at 6.3218 v 6.3333 prior
(HK) Hong Kong new home supply expected to reach 20K units (15-yr high) – HK press
(CN) Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges considering delisting companies for serious law violations – Xinhua
(CN) China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and four other regulators planning to expand capital tools for commercial banks to replenish their capital in order to boost their support for the real economy – Xinhua
(CN) China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) approves 3 coal projects: Approves CNY3.4B coal mine project in Inner Mongolia, capacity of 6Mt/yr
(CN) China State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) official Xiao: China seeks to ensure and increase value of state assets
Looking Ahead: China Feb Fixed Asset Investment, Industrial Production and Retail Sales due for release on Wednesday
Australia/New Zealand
ASX 200 opened +0.5%; closed -0.5%
ASX 200 Resources Index -1.2%, Telecom -1%, Energy -0.7%, Financials -0.4%
(NZ) RBNZ Acting Gov Spencer: Macro-prudential policy ultimately can’t control the housing cycle
(NZ) New Zealand sells NZ$2.0B in 3.0% April 2029 bonds, avg yield 3.135%
(AU) Australia sells A$150M in 2027 indexed bonds, avg yield 0.8208%, bid to cover 3.07x
(AU) AUSTRALIA JAN HOME LOANS M/M: -1.1% V -0.2%E; INVESTMENT LENDING: +1.1% V -2.6% PRIOR; Owner occupier home loan value m/m: +1.1% v -1.0% prior
(AU) Australia Feb NAB Business Confidence: 9 v 11 prior; Conditions: 21 v 18 prior
Other Asia
(ID) Indonesia Energy Ministry: Revises effective date for new coal price to March 12th (prior Jan 1st)
(ID) S&P: Reiterates sees no sovereign ratings upgrade for Indonesia in the next 12-24 months, reminder May of 2017 S&P raised the rating to B from BBB-, Outlook stable
North America
US equity markets ended mixed: Dow -0.6%, S&P500 -0.1%, Nasdaq +0.4%, Russell 2000 +0.3%
S&P500 Industrials -1.2%; Real Estate +0.5%
(US) House Intel member Conaway: House panel finds no Russia collusion with Trump
QCOM, [-4.2% after hours], White House announces President Trump will not allow Broadcom takeover of Qualcomm – press
Looking Ahead: US Feb CPI data due for release, along with Weekly API Crude Oil Inventories
Europe
(US) Sec of State Tillerson: Extremely concerned about Russia, UK poisoning an egregious act and will trigger a response, not sure if Russia was involved
Looking Ahead: UK OBR expected to issue Spring Forecasts, while Chancellor Hammond is expected to issue the Spring Statement
Levels as of 01:00ET
Hang Seng -0.0%; Shanghai Composite -0.2%; Kospi +0.1%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.1%; Nasdaq100 +0.0%, Dax +0.1%; FTSE100 +0.1%
EUR 1.2345-1.2325; JPY 106.85-106.26; AUD 0.7884-0.7866;NZD 0.7323-0.7292
Apr Gold -0.04% at $1,320/oz; Apr Crude Oil -0.2% at $61.27/brl; May Copper -0.1% at $3.12/lb
