USD Trades Broadly Weaker

Dec 01 20, 10:01 GMT

General Trend

Topix Securities, Real Estate, Marine Transportation, Electric Appliances and Insurance indices are among the gainers in Japan; Banks and Air Transportation firms lag
Australian Consumer and Financial firms rebound from the declines seen on Mon; Energy index lags
Australian lithium firms announce merger (Pilbara Minerals and Altura)
Financials and Consumer firms were among the early gainers in Shanghai
Chinese Corp Debt: Yongcheng Coal said to repay interest on certain bonds; Tianqi Lithium receives payment extension; FT commented on Huachen Auto; Wintime Energy was also in the headlines
Financials rise in HK, Tech firms trade generally weaker; Shares of Alibaba have remained heavy; CNOOC extends decline amid regulatory uncertainty; Sino Biopharmaceutical weighed down by financial results
PBOC Gov warned against the monetization of gov’t debt
FOMC member Kaplan commented on the Dec Fed meeting
Little news seen in the RBA’s statement
Australia Q3 GDP data due on Wed (Dec 2nd)
RBA Gov Lowe is due to appear before the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics on Dec 2nd [at 11 pm GMT]
RBNZ Gov also due to speak on Wed

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened +0.2%
(AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) LEAVES CASH RATE TARGET UNCHANGED AT 0.10%, AS EXPECTED; MAINTAINS A$100B BOND BUYING PROGRAM
(AU) Australia Nov Final PMI Manufacturing: 55.8 v 56.1 prelim (highest since Dec 2017, 6th consecutive month of expansion)
(AU) AUSTRALIA OCT BUILDING APPROVALS M/M: +3.8% V -3.0%E
(AU) Australia total payroll jobs change between Oct 31st and Nov 14th: +0.1% v +0.5% prior; Weekly total wages +0.8% v +0.1% prior

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.7%
(JP) JAPAN OCT JOBLESS RATE: 3.1% V 3.1%E; Job-To-Applicant Ratio: 1.04 v 1.03 prior (1st increase since Apr 2019)
(JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Kato: PM Suga has instructed Japan Ministers to map out a 5-year infrastructure plan for Japan for total ~¥5.0T
(JP) JAPAN Q3 CAPITAL SPENDING (CAPEX) Y/Y: -10.6% V -11.3% PRIOR; CAPITAL SPENDING EX-SOFTWARE: -11.6% V -10.4% PRIOR
(JP) Japan Nov Final PMI Manufacturing: 49.0 v 48.3 prelim (highest reading since Aug 2019)
9437.JP Reportedly plans to overhaul pricing structure of mainstream service and cut prices – Nikkei
(JP) Japan Econ Min Nishimura: Will urge business lobby to cooperate on telework; Number of furloughed workers are closer to in an average year
(JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Japan Financial System overall is stable, Retaining sense of caution on unclear economic outlook
(JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.6T v ¥2.6T indicated in 0.1% 10-year JGBs; avg yield 0.019% v 0.046% prior; bid to cover: 3.42x v 4.13x prior

Korea

Kospi opened +0.9%
(KR) SOUTH KOREA Q3 FINAL GDP Q/Q: 2.1% V 1.9% PRELIM (fastest expansion since Q3 2009, 1st expansion in 3 quarters) ; Y/Y: -1.1% V -1.3% PRELIM (confirms end of technical recession); Exports q/q: +16.0% v -16.1% prior (highest since 1986)
(KR) South Korea President Moon: Revised GDP Growth show economic recovery; record run for the Kospi index shows confidence in the domestic economy
South Korea Ruling and Opposition parties said to agree to 2021 budget; KRW2.0T in bond sales – Yonhap
(KR) South Korea to appeal World Trade Organization’s ruling that Korea partially violated anti-dumping rules when imposing tariffs on Japanese stainless steel bars
(KR) South Korea Foreign Min Kang calls for active efforts to develop an alliance with Biden administration and advance the Korean Peninsula peace process in cooperation with the new US president – Yonhap
(KR) South Korea Nov PMI Manufacturing: 52.9 v 51.2 prior (highest level since Feb 2011)

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.3%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.1%
(CN) CHINA NOV CAIXIN PMI MANUFACTURING: 54.9 V 53.5E (10 year high, 7th consecutive month of expansion)
(CN) China PBoC Gov Yi Gang Article: Regulators and local governments should be held responsible and punished for failing to prevent major financial risks – Shanghai Securities News
(CN) China export control law that manages sensitive technology, military goods, dual use items that have both civil and military uses, and a licence requirement for anyone who intends to export or re-export these goods goes into effect today – China press
China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY20B in 7-day reverse repos v Injects CNY150B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net drain CNY50B v Net inject CNY110B prior
China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.5921 v 6.5782 prior
(HK) Macau Nov Casino Rev (MOP): 6.8B v 7.3B prior; Y/Y: -70.5% v -69.8%e

Other

OPEC+ meeting reportedly rescheduled until Dec 3rd as more talks are said to be needed (had been planned for tomorrow)

North America

TSLA S&P announced details on addition of TSLA to the S&P500 index before the open on Dec 21st at full float adjusted market cap weight (will not break it into 2 tranches)
XOM Affirms FY21 capex $16-19B; guides $20-25B capex annually through 2025; to prioritize capital investments on high-value assets; cutting global workforce 15% by end of 2021; sees doubling earnings by 2027
(US) Fed’s Kaplan (FOMC voter): Expects strong economic growth in the second half of next year once newly developed COVID vaccines get rolled out widely, with cases surging now see “very difficult” next 3-6 months
(US) According to Adobe Analytics Cyber Monday sales forecast to $10.8-11.4B (prior $10.8B)

Europe

(UK) UK Govt expected to publish law that will repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, which would give PM Johnson the power to decide timing of future elections – UK press
(IE) Ireland PM Martin: We are now really in endgame if a Brexit deal is to be arrived at this week, there is a landing zone for an agreement and there are option to conclude the deal – Press

Levels as of 12:15ET (05:15GMT)

Hang Seng +1.0%; Shanghai Composite +1.3%; Kospi +1.7%; Nikkei225 +1.5%; ASX 200 +1.1%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.9%; Nasdaq100 +0.8%, Dax +0.7%; FTSE100 +0.6%
EUR 1.1961-1.1925; JPY 104.47-104.25; AUD 0.7371-0.7341; NZD 0.7043-0.7010
Commodity Futures: Gold +0.4% at $1,787/oz; Crude Oil -0.7% at $45.04/brl; Copper +0.6% at $3.47/lb