General Trend
- After opening generally higher, equities are still mostly in the green; Chipmakers track gains in US-listed semis; Financials trade mixed in Asia
- Hang Seng index has extended gain following the higher open [TECH index has risen by over 2.5%; Sunny Optical rises over 10% post earnings; XTEP International declines after reporting earnings; CK Hutchison is due to report FY results]
- Shanghai Composite ended the morning session near the highs [Consumer Staples index rose over 2.4%; O-Film extended decline on customer loss]
- Japan markets pared gain on BOJ speculation as the Yen firmed, equities currently trade closer to the opening level [Nikkei has regained 30K; TOPIX Banks index rises over 2.5% ahead of BOJ decision, JGB yields rise; Mitsubishi Motors became the latest automaker to note production impact from chip shortages]
- ASX 200 lagged, ended closer to session lows [REIT index dropped amid the higher gov’t bond yields; Consumer Staples also dropped]
- SK Bioscience rose by over 100% in debut
- Australian dollar and bond yields rise after better jobs data
- NZ 10-yr yield declined after bond auction results, Q4 GDP unexpectedly contracted
- BOE rate decision due later today
- BOJ policy decision due on Friday (March 19th) [results of framework assessment in focus]
- Companies expected to report during the NY morning include Accenture, Commercial Metals, Canadian Solar, Dollar General, Duluth Holdings, Destination XL, G-III Apparel, HeadHunter Group, Signet, Titan Machinery, Weibo
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened -0.2%
- (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB EMPLOYMENT CHANGE: 88.7K V 30.0KE; UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 5.8% V 6.3%E
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q4 GDP Q/Q: -1.0% V 0.2%E; Y/Y: -0.9% V 0.5%E
- (NZ) New Zealand Deputy PM Robertson: Close to an agreement with Australia on a quarantine free travel corridor
- WBC.AU Selling lenders mortgage insurance business to Arch Capital for book value, to be determined at completion
- (AU) Australia Treasurer Frydenberg: Challenges for Job market as Jobkeeper program ends
Japan
- Nikkei 225 opened +0.8%
- (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) said to plan on adjusting yield band to +/- 25bps, to get rid of ¥6.0T ETF purchase target, to allow long term rates to fluctuate to ~50bps (currently 40bps) – Nikkei
- 6502.JP Shareholders approve Effissimo Capital proposal on independent probe into results from 2020 AGM – EGM
- (JP) Japan confirms recommends lifting of Tokyo area emergency COVID restrictions, effective March 21st
Korea
- Kospi opened +0.2%
- (KR) North Korea State Media: US has tried to make contact several time recently; US attempts to initiate contact are a cheap trick meant to waste time; North Korea will respond to power with power, goodwill with goodwill
- (KR) Bank of Korea (BOK): To take FX and Financial Market stabilizing steps if they are needed; Reiterates to strengthen monitoring of markets
- (KR) South Korea Vice Fin Min: Policy should focus on stabilizing local bond markets due to an increase in recent issuance
- (KR) US Sec of State Blinken: US President Biden to complete his North Korea policy review in coming weeks, committed to denuclearization
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opened +0.1%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.1%
- (CN) China expected to propose a new framework for strategic dialogue when officials meet in Alaska; also planning to propose lifting of US sanctions and restrictions on Chinese companies and party members – US financial press
- (CN) China said to not have ‘high expectations’ in meeting with US; Will not compromise with US on sovereignty – Press
- 762.HK FCC initiates proceeding to revoke China Unicom allowances; finds Unicom did not dispel serious concerns – press
- (CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net CNY0B v CNY0B prior
- (HK) Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA): To monitor market developments after FOMC Meeting; HKD Interest rates remain steady
- 728.HK Announces CNY54.4B Shanghai A-share IPO
- (CN) China regulators urge stronger risk controls over audio social apps and deepfakes, spoke with Kuaishou, Alibaba, ByteDance, Xiaomi and Tencent – press
Other
- (BR) BRAZIL CENTRAL BANK (BCB) RAISES SELIC TARGET RATE BY 75BPS TO 2.75%; MORE-THAN-EXPECTED; For the next meeting, unless there is a significant change in inflation projection or balance of risk, see another 75bps rate hike next meeting
North America
- (US) S&P Dow Jones Indices: In consideration of overall market conditions, the Index Committee believes a minimum threshold of $11.8B for the S&P 500 is appropriate
- COHR II VI thought to have made revised bid at $285/shr ($220 cash and remainder in stock) (prior $195/shr in cash and stock) – press
- (US) FOMC LEAVES TARGET RANGE UNCHANGED BETWEEN 0.00-0.25% (AS EXPECTED); ECONOMY’S PACE HAS PICKED UP; INFLATION CONTINUES TO RUN BELOW 2 PERCENT
- (US) Fed Chair Powell: Fed remains strongly committed to achieving monetary policy goals on employment and price stability; it is not time to start talking about tapering yet; we want to see actual progress, not forecast progress; We will have something to announce on the supplementary leverage ratio (SLR) in coming days – post rate decision remarks
Europe
- (NL) Netherlands PM Rutte’s centre-right People’s party expected to win parliament elections according to exit polls
Levels as of 01:15ET
- Hang Seng +1.4%; Shanghai Composite +0.6%; Kospi +0.9%; Nikkei225 +1.0%; ASX 200 -0.7%.
- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.1%; Nasdaq100 0%, Dax +0.3%; FTSE100 -0.4%.
- EUR 1.1988-1.1955; JPY 109.12-108.62; AUD 0.7835-0.7794; NZD 0.7259-0.7225.
- Commodity Futures: Gold +1.3% at $1,748/oz; Crude Oil -0.6% at $64.22/brl; Copper -0.9% at $4.10/lb.
