Equity Markets Trade Generally Higher Amid Dearth Of Economic Data

May 11 18, 06:46 GMT

General Trend:

Hang Seng outperforms on gains in the Info Tech, Financials and Services sectors
Australia’s Graincorp H1 results hurt by dry weather conditions
Rusal reports rise in Q1 results, notes sanctions limit ability to forecast
Oil prices see little volatility during Asia
Generally quiet session for Asian bonds

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened +0.2%; closed flat
ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index +1%, Telecom +1%, Resources +0.7%; Financials -0.4%, Utilities -0.4%, Energy -0.2%
(AU) Australia March Home Loans M/M: -2.2% v -1.8%e; Investment Lending: -9.0% v 0.5% prior
(AU) Australia sells A$1.0B v A$1.0B indicated in 3.25% April 2029 bonds, avg yield 2.7842%, bid to cover 3.91x
(NZ) RBNZ Gov Orr: Move lower in Kiwi (NZD) after Thursday’s rate decision ‘a good thing’
(NZ) New Zealand April Business NZ Manufacturing PMI 58.9 v 52.2 prior

China/Hong Kong

Shanghai Composite opened +0.2%, Hang Seng +1.1%
Hang Seng Information Technology Index +1.5%
(CN) China PBoC sets yuan reference rate 6.3524 v 6.3768 prior
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips OMO v CNY30B injected in 7-day and 14-day reverse repos prior; Net drain: CNY20B
For the week, PBoC drained a net of CNY140B through OMOs v CNY110B drain w/w
(CN) PBoC said to plan full custody of payment companies’ reserves – China Securities Times
(CN) Credit risks in China are controllable despite defaults – China Securities Journal

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.3%; closed +1.2%
TOPIX Electric Appliances Index +1.8%, Marine Transportation +1.1%, Retail +0.9%
(JP) Nikkei 225 May options said to settle at ~22,621
(JP) Japan April Money Stock M2: 3.3% v 3.2%e; M3 2.8% v 2.8%e

Korea

Other

(ID) Indonesia Central Bank Gov Martowardojo: Has ample room to adjust rates; reiterates Rupiah currency (IDR) depreciation not in line with fundamentals

North America

US equity markets ended higher: Dow +0.8%, S&P500 +0.9%, Nasdaq +0.9%, Russell 2000 +0.5%
S&P500 Utilities +1.4%, Tech +1.3%
(US) TREASURY’S $16B 30-YEAR BOND AUCTION DRAWS 3.130%; BID-TO-COVER RATIO: 2.38 V 2.26 PRIOR AND 2.25 AVG OVER THE LAST 4 AUCTIONS (highest yield since March 2017)
(US) US President Trump: Hope to make better deal with Iran

Europe

Levels as of 02:00ET

Hang Seng +1.3%; Shanghai Composite -0.1%; Kospi +0.6%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.1%; Nasdaq100 flat, Dax +0.2%; FTSE100 +0.2%
EUR 1.1909-1.1926 ; JPY 109.19-109.58 ; AUD 0.7522-0.7544 ;NZD 0.6954-0.6978
Jun Gold -0.2% at $1,320/oz; May Crude Oil flat at $71.36/brl; May Copper flat at $3.110/lb

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