General Trend:
Asian equity markets trade generally lower in the aftermath of Fed meeting
Hang Seng IT index lags, Tencent declines over 4%
RBA again rules out near-term rate hike (Quarterly Monetary Policy Statement)
China inflation data inline with expectations
Friday’s US/China diplomatic and security talks in focus
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
ASX 200 opened flat
(AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) QUARTERLY STATEMENT ON MONETARY POLICY (SOMP): REITERATES HIGHER INTEREST RATES LIKELY APPROPRIATE AT SOME POINT, does not see strong case to adjust cash-rate in near-term
(AU) Australia Sept Home Loans M/M: -1.0% v -1.0%e; Investment Lending: -2.8% v -1.1% prior
(NZ) New Zealand sells NZ$250M in April 2029 bonds, avg yield 2.8179%, bid to cover 2.20x
China/Hong Kong
Shanghai Composite opened -0.6%, Hang Seng -1.2%
(CN) CHINA OCT CPI Y/Y: 2.5% V 2.5%E
(CN) CHINA OCT PPI Y/Y: 3.3% V 3.3%E
(CN) Companies in China repurchased CNY33.7B (~$4.9B) in shares in 2018 – China Securities Times
(CN) China must maintain current property controls – Chinese Press
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operations (OMO): Skips reverse repo operation v skipped prior
(CN) China PBoC sets Yuan reference rate at: 6.9329 v 6.9163 prior
Japan
Nikkei 225 opened -0.1%
(JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Suga: PM Abe held phone call with US President Trump
(JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Expects strong US/Japan relations to continue; can’t comment on details of US Vice President Pence’s visit next week
(JP) Japan Oct Money Stock M2 Y/Y: 2.7% v 2.8%e; M3 Y/Y: 2.3% v 2.4%e
Korea
Kospi opened +0.1%
(KR) South Korea President Moon names Government Coordination Office Chief as the new Finance Min (confirms press speculation)
(KR) South Korea President Moon approval rating 54% v 55% prior – Gallup Poll
Other
(MY) Malaysia Sep Industrial Production Y/Y: 2.3% v 2.3%e
North America
US equity markets ended mixed: Dow flat, S&P500 -0.3%, Nasdaq -0.5%, Russell 2000 -0.3%
(US) FOMC LEAVES TARGET RANGE UNCHANGED BETWEEN 2.00-2.25%; AS EXPECTED: UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HAS DECLINED, JOB GAINS HAVE BEEN STRONG ON AVERAGE
TransCanada [TRP]: Federal Court said to block Keystone XL Pipeline project -US financial press
Europe
(UK) Prime Min May spokesperson: govt won’t agree to anything that causes hard border on Ireland; will not accept UK division into two customs territories
(UK) Reportedly EU demanding fishing rights in British coastal waters as the price for an all-UK Brexit backstop agreement – UK Telegraph
(UK) Prime Min May reportedly will hold phone discussions with ministers on Sunday related to the Irish border – FT
ThyssenKrupp [TKA.DE]: Cuts FY18 Net €0.1B v €0.3B y/y, adj EBIT €1.6B (prior €1.8B): affected by provisions for cartel proceedings
Levels as of 01:30ET
Nikkei 225, -1%, ASX 200 -0.1%, Hang Seng -2.5%; Shanghai Composite -1%; Kospi -0.1%
Equity Futures: S&P500 flat; Nasdaq100 -0.2%, Dax flat; FTSE100 -0.1%
EUR 1.1369-1.1340 ; JPY 114.10-113.82 ; AUD 0.7272-0.7236 ;NZD 0.6767-0.6730
Dec Gold -0.4% at $1,220/oz; Oct Crude Oil -0.1% at $60.63/brl; Dec Copper -0.4% at $2.721/lb
