Sample Category Title

General Trend:

• Shanghai Composite supported by the IT and Telecom sectors
• China’s banking index declines after gaining ahead of RRR cut announcement
• US equity futures pare gains
• Tech, Iron/Steel and Marine Transportation companies rise in Japan
• Resources sector outperforms in Australia
• US Dollar trades generally weaker, recent comments from Fed Chair Powell eyed
• Oil Futures track gains in the equity markets
• Australia Manufacturing PMI contracts for the first time in 26 months
• China and US to hold vice-ministerial level trade talks on Jan 7-8th (Mon-Tues)
• Corporate earnings in focus this week: Samsung expected to report prelim Q4 results on Tuesday (Jan 8th)
• Partial US government shutdown entered 16th day as of Sunday

Headlines/Economic Data

Japan

• Nikkei 225 opened +2.0%
• (JP) Japan PM Abe: Govt to keep a close eye on increasing risks to global economic recovery as it guides policy - Japan press
• (JP) Japan Dec PMI Services: 51.0 v 52.3 prior; PMI Composite: 52.0 v 52.4 prior
• (JP) Japan Nov Loans & Discounts Corp y/y: 3.7% v 3.3% prior
• (JP) Japan Dec Monetary Base y/y: 4.8% v 5.8%e; Monetary Base end of Period: ¥504.2T v ¥505.8Te
• 4502.JP To issue 770M shares at ¥7,601/share, relates to acquisition of Shire
• 6758.JP President said to be planning to make entertainment assets a priority – press
• 4502.JP CEO: Will give combined company (Shire) guidance in May; Takeda will have divestments in 2019 for sure, it is a way to deleverage quickly

Korea

• Kospi opened +1.2%
• 005930.KR Speculated to target 2019 smartphone production below 300M units - US financial press
• (KR) South Korea Dec Foreign Exchange Reserves: $403.7B v $402.9B prior
• (KR) South Korea President Moon to hold new years press conference this week to address his administration's policy objectives for 2019
• (KR) North Korea calls on the United States on to take "corresponding" steps for the "sincere measures" the North has taken toward denuclearization since their summit in June - Yonhap

China/Hong Kong

• Hang Seng opened %, Shanghai Composite %
• (CN) China and US to have sit down talks on trade Monday, first time since the start of the 90-day extension to tariff implementation – SCMP
• (US) President Trump expected to hold talks with China VP Wang Qishan in Davos - SCMP
• (CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips v CNY10B injected in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net: CNY170B drain v CNY160B drain prior
• (CN) China PBoC sets yuan reference rate: 6.8517 v 6.8586 prior
• (CN) China has room for additional cut to RRR - China Daily
• (CN) China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and 11 agencies issues new guidelines on rare earth: to impose severe penalties on those illegally mine, produce or export rare-earth materials; China is currently not putting a cap on rare-earth exports
• (CN) China PBoC adviser Sheng Songcheng said rising trend for domestic property prices is no longer a certainty, notes 'unprecedented state housing price controls have come into effect - financial press
• 1530.HK Unit received exclusive licenses for SB8 in mainland China; Announces collaboration agreement with Samsung Bioepis [+8.8%]

Australia/New Zealand

• ASX 200 opened +0.7%
• (AU) Australia Dec AIG Performance of Manufacturing Index: 49.5 v 51.3 prior
• HLS.AU Rejects non-binding indicative proposal from Jangho Group [-5%]

Other Asia

• Taiwanese Apple supplier Largan Precision reports ~34% decline in Dec sales

North America

• (US) TSA issued statement about security workers calling in sick amid govt shutdown; says the 'call outs' are causing "minimal impact"
• (US) Pres Trump tweets that he never committed any campaign violations; other politicians who have had campaign finance violations paid fines to settle these civil cases
• (US) President Trump: Affirms demand for border wall, but says the barrier could be made of steel instead of concrete
• (US) Pres Trump says drug makers are not living up to their commitments on pricing - tweet
• Dollar Tree [DLTR]: Activist investor Starboard said to take 1.7% stake, the shareholder favors a sale of Family Dollar and pricing model changes - US financial press
• AAPL Production of iPhone XR for first 6-months thought to be cut by 50% to 30-40M - US financial press

Europe

• (UK) British Dec high street sales -1.9% y/y (6th consecutive year of declines) according to BDO data - press
• (UK) UK PM May said Britain would be in 'uncharted territory' if her Brexit deal is rejected by parliament - financial press
• (UK) According to YouGov poll, 46% of those polled would vote to remain in the EU vs 39% who would vote to leave – financial press

Levels as of 12:50ET

• Hang Seng +0.9%; Shanghai Composite +0.5%; Kospi +1.4%; Nikkei225 +2.7%; ASX 200 +1.1%
• Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.3%; Nasdaq100 +0.4%, Dax +0.2%; FTSE100 +0.2%
• EUR 1.1397-1.1431; JPY 108.03-108.62; AUD 0.7109-0.7138; NZD 0.6729-0.6756
• Feb Gold +0.5% at $1,292/oz; Feb Crude Oil +1.6% at $48.73/brl; Mar Copper -0.3% at $2.64/lb

Daily Pivots: (S1) 1.1356; (P) 1.1387; (R1) 1.1430; More.....

Intraday bias in EUR/USD remains neutral at this point. The corrective structure from 1.1215 so far suggests that larger decline is not completed yet. And downside breakout is in favor. On the downside, break of 1.1270 minor support will turn bias back to the downside for 1.1215 low. Break will resume down trend from 1.2555 to 1.1186 key fibonacci level. Nevertheless, sustained break of 1.1499 will suggest near term reversal and bring stronger rebound back to 1.1621 resistance first.

In the bigger picture, as long as 1.1814 resistance holds, down trend down trend from 1.2555 medium term top is still in progress and should target 61.8% retracement of 1.0339 (2017 low) to 1.2555 at 1.1186 next. Sustained break there will pave the way to retest 1.0339. However, break of 1.1814 will confirm completion of such down trend and turn medium term outlook bullish.

Daily Pivots: (S1) 1.2649; (P) 1.2697; (R1) 1.2779; More....

Intraday bias in GBP/USD remains mildly on the upside for further rebound. But still, near term outlook remains bearish as long as 1.2814 resistance holds. On the downside, below 1.2615 minor support will turn bias to the downside for retesting 1.2391 first. Break will extend the down trend from 1.4376 and target 61.8% projection of 1.4376 to 1.2661 from 1.3174 at 1.2114 next. However, firm break of 1.2814 resistance will be an early sign of trend reversal and bring stronger rebound back to 1.3174 resistance next.

In the bigger picture, whole medium term rebound from 1.1946 (2016 low) should have completed at 1.4376 already, after rejection from 55 month EMA. The structure and momentum of the fall from 1.4376 argues that it's resuming long term down trend from 2.1161 (2007 high). And this will now remain the preferred case as long as 1.3174 structural resistance holds. GBP/USD should target a test on 1.1946 first. Decisive break there will confirm our bearish view.

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the EUR slightly rose against the USD and closed at 1.1399 on Friday.

Data indicated that the Euro-zone's flash consumer price inflation slowed more than expected to 1.6% on a yearly basis in December, recording its lowest level in eight months, amid weakness in energy prices. The CPI had recorded a gain of 1.9% in the previous month. Moreover, the region's producer price index (PPI) climbed 4.0% on an annual basis in November, falling short of market expectations for an advance of 4.2%. The PPI had registered an increase of 4.9% in the preceding month. On the flipside, the nation's final services PMI declined more than anticipated to a 4-year low level of 51.2 in December, diminishing the possibilities for further near-term interest rate hike. Preliminary figures had indicated for a fall to a level of 51.4. In the preceding month, the PMI had registered a reading of 53.4. Separately, in Germany, the final services PMI eased to a 27-month low level of 51.8 in December, compared to market expectations for a drop to a level of 52.5. In the previous month, the PMI had registered a level of 53.3. Meanwhile, the nation's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.0% in December, marking its record low level since German reunification in 1990 and meeting market expectations.

In the US, data showed that the US final Markit services PMI eased to a level of 54.4 in December, more than market expectations. The PMI had recorded a reading of 54.7 in the previous month. The preliminary figures had indicated a drop to 53.40. Furthermore, the nation's unemployment rate in unexpectedly advanced to a 10-mont high level of 3.9% in December, compared to market consensus for an unchanged reading. In the prior month, unemployment rate had registered a reading of 3.7%.

On the contrary, the US non-farm payrolls sharply rose to its highest level in 11-months by 312.0K in December, surpassing market expectations of a gain of 184.0K. Non-farm payrolls had recorded a revised rise of 176.0K in the previous month. Additionally, average hourly earnings of all employees jumped 3.2% on an annual basis in December, following a rise of 3.1% in the previous month. Market participants had envisaged average hourly earnings to record a climb of 3.0%.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.1424, with the EUR trading 0.22% higher against the USD from Friday's close, after the US Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell stated that the Fed would put its policy tightening on pause in 2019.

The pair is expected to find support at 1.1372, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.1319. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.1451, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.1477.

Looking ahead, investors would await the Euro-zone's Sentix investor confidence for January and retail sales for November along with Germany's retail sales and factory orders, both for November, set to release in a few hours. Later in the day, the US ISM non-manufacturing PMI for December, will be on investors' radar.

The currency pair is trading above its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the GBP rose 0.82% against the USD and closed at 1.2737 on Friday.

Macroeconomic data revealed that UK's services PMI expanded to a level of 51.2 in December, amid modest gains in activity and demand and surpassing market expectations for a rise to a level of 50.7. In the prior month, the PMI had registered a reading of 50.4. Moreover, the nation's net consumer credit recorded an advance of £0.9 billion in November, undershooting market consensus for a rise of £1.0 billion. In the preceding month, net consumer credit had recorded a revised gain of £0.8 billion.

On the other hand, Britain's seasonally adjusted Nationwide house price index surprisingly retreated 0.7% on a monthly basis in December, signalling its slowest pace in 6-years and defying market anticipations for a climb of 0.1%. The index had registered a revised rise of 0.4% in the prior month. Also, the nation's mortgage approvals for house purchases fell to a 7-month low level of 63.7K in December, compared to a revised level of 66.7K in the previous month. Market participants had envisaged the mortgage approvals to drop to a level of 66.0K.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.2749, with the GBP trading 0.09% higher against the USD from Friday's close.

The pair is expected to find support at 1.2661, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.2573. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.2793, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.2837.

In absence of key economic releases in UK today, investor sentiment would be determined by global macroeconomic events.

The currency pair is trading above its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD rose 0.31% against the JPY and closed at 108.49 on Friday.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 108.10, with the USD trading 0.36% lower against the JPY from Friday's close.

Overnight data revealed that Japan's Nikkei services PMI eased to a level of 51.0 in December, expanded at its weakest pace in 3-months and compared to a reading of 52.3 in the previous month.

The pair is expected to find support at 107.74, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 107.38. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 108.54, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 108.98.

The currency pair is showing convergence with its 20 Hr moving average and trading above its 50 Hr moving average.

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD slightly declined against the CHF and closed at 0.9865 on Friday.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 0.9842, with the USD trading 0.23% lower against the CHF from Friday’s close.

The pair is expected to find support at 0.9819, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 0.9795. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 0.9887, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 0.9931.

Moving ahead, traders would await Switzerland’s total sight deposits, scheduled to release in a while.

The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the USD declined 0.70% against the CAD and closed at 1.3396 on Friday.

On macro front, Canada's unemployment rate remained steady at a 43-year low level of 5.6% in December, lower than market consensus for a rise to 5.7%.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.3359, with the USD trading 0.28% lower against the CAD from Friday's close.

The pair is expected to find support at 1.3314, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.3270. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.3447, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.3536.

Trading trend in the Loonie today is expected to be determined by Canada's Ivey purchasing managers index for December, scheduled to release in a few hours.

The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the AUD rose 1.30% against the USD and closed at 0.7115 on Friday.

LME Copper prices rose 0.5% or $29.0/MT to $5840.0/MT. Aluminium prices rose 2.9% or $53.5/MT to $1879.0/MT.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 0.7135, with the AUD trading 0.28% higher against the USD from Friday’s close.

Overnight data showed that Australia’s AIG performance of manufacturing index dropped to a level of 49.5 in December, following a level of 51.3 in the previous month.

The pair is expected to find support at 0.7055, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 0.6974. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 0.7177, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 0.7218.

Moving forward, traders would closely monitor Australia’s trade balance data for November, slated to release overnight.

The currency pair is trading above its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, Gold declined 1.02% against the USD and closed at USD1285.40 per ounce on Friday, amid broad strength in US equities, following stronger than expected US jobs data.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1290.60, with gold trading 0.40% higher against the USD from Friday’s close, amid weakness in the US Dollar, following the US Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell’s comments over policy tightening in 2019.

The pair is expected to find support at 1279.53, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1268.47. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1300.23, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1309.87.

The yellow metal is trading above its 20 Hr moving average and showing convergence with its 50 Hr moving average.