Equities Trade Generally Higher

General trend

• Hang Seng rebounded from the opening decline [TECH index rebounds]; Sportswear firms rise amid news; Gaming firms drop on Macau news.
• Shanghai Composite also gained as the session progressed; Automakers trade generally higher amid comments from CAAM; Financial and Property indices lag.
• S&P ASX 200 has traded modestly higher [Resources index has outperformed].
• Nikkei 225 has lagged amid the recent weakness in USD/JPY; Nippon Steel rises on higher outlook; Companies due to report later today include Honda, Sony, Softbank Corp, Isuzu, Ricoh.
• Companies due to report during the NY morning include AmerisourceBergen, Apollo Global, BorgWarner, CDW Corp, Clean Harbors, Charles River Labs, CVS, Emerson Electric, Entergy, Exelon, The Geo Group, GM, Kraft Heinz, LL Flooring, Marathon Petroleum, NiSource, New York Times, Royal Caribbean, Scotts Miracle-Gro, Spirit Aerosystems, Triumph Group, Tupperware, Virtu Financial, Vulcan Materials.
• US ADP data due later today.

Headlines/Economic data

Australia/New Zealand

• ASX 200 opened +0.2%.
• (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q2 UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 4.0% V 4.4%E; Employment Change Q/Q: 1.0% v 0.6%% prior ; Y/Y: 1.7% v 1.2%e.
• (AU) S&P: Lockdowns in Australia are not likely to slow fiscal repair, Unlikely to weigh heavily on AAA rating.
• (AU) Australia July Final PMI Services: 44.2 v 44.2 prelim (confirms 1st contraction in 11 months; lowest reading since May 2020).
• (AU) Australia July AIG Construction Index: 48.7 v 55.5 prior.
• GMA.AU Reports H1 (A$) Net 59.4M v -90.0M y/y; Rev 208.7M v 237.9M y/y.
• (AU) Australia sells A$800M v A$800M indicated in 1.75% Nov 2032 bonds, avg yield 1.2175%, bid to cover 5.02x.

Japan

• Nikkei 225 opened +0.1%.
• 7203.JP Reports Q1 Net ¥897.8B v ¥158.8B y/y, Op ¥997.5B v ¥13.9B y/y; Rev ¥7.94T v ¥4.60T y/y; Affirms all FY guidance.
• (JP) Japan LDP Party considering leadership election in late September – Japan press.
• 2802.JP AGF unit to raise certain coffee products prices by 20%.
• (JP) Japan July Final PMI Services: 47.4 v 46.4 prelim (confirms 18th month of contraction).
• (JP) Japan Health Adviser Omi: Has been discussing whether state of emergency should be nationwide.

Korea

• Kospi opened +0.3%.
• (KR) South Korea July Foreign Reserves: $458.7B v $454.1B prior (record high).
• 096770.KR Reports Q2 (KRW) Net +415.9B v -345.8B y/y, Op +506.5B v -456.3B y/y; Rev 11.1T v 7.13T y/y, to spin off battery business.
• (KR) South Korea Govt to decided Friday, Aug 6th if they will adjust social distancing rules – Yonhap.

China/Hong Kong

• Hang Seng opened -0.1%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.2%.
• (CN) CHINA JULY CAIXIN PMI SERVICES: 54.9 V 50.5E (15th consecutive expansion).
• (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 Net CNY0B prior.
• (HK) Hong Kong July PMI (Whole Economy): 51.3 v 51.4 prior (6th consecutive expansion).
• (CN) China said to seek to increase sports industry size to CNY5.0T by 2025.
• (CN) China Daily: China Total Trade may hit a record high >$5.4T in H2.
• (CN) Follow Up: Officials in Wuhan (China) have introduced ‘housing tickets’ in a move to slow increases in property prices – SCMP.
• (CN) China Sec Journal: Domestic demand is a priority in order to stabilize China growth.
• (CN) China July Wholesales Vehicle Sales Expected at 1.82M units, -13.8% y/y – CAAM.
• (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4655 v 6.4610 prior.
• (HK) Macau to shut cinemas, Gyms, Bars, and Karaoke areas beginning August 5th – Press.

Other

• (SG) Singapore July PMI (whole economy): 56.7 v 50.1 prior (8th consecutive expansion)

North America

• TSLA Raises prices in China for longer range Model S by CNY30.0K.
• H Reports Q2 -$1.15 v -$0.89e; Affirmed FY guidance.
• OI Reports Q2 $0.54 v $0.47e, Rev $1.7B v $1.57Be; Raises guidance.
• PRU Reports Q2 $3.79 v $3.04e; To return $11B to shareholders through 2023 (prior $10.5B).
• (US) Weekly API Crude Oil Inventories: -0.9M v -4.7M prior.

Europe

• ROG.CH Softbank said to have built a $5.0B stake, thinks the Greentech unit is undervalued – financial press.
• (UK) Times Shadow Committee reiterates Bank of England (BOE) should cancel the final £50.0B of QE, BOE should deliver clear signal that it is concerned about rising inflation – UK press [BOE is due to meet on Thurs (Aug 5th)].

Levels as of 01:15ET

• Hang Seng +1.3%; Shanghai Composite +0.5%; Kospi +1.2%; Nikkei225 -0.3%; ASX 200 +0.3%.
• Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.1%; Nasdaq100 0.0%, Dax +0.0%; FTSE100 +0.2%.
• EUR 1.1876-1.1861; JPY 109.11-108.93; AUD 0.7412-0.7388; NZD 0.7066-0.7013.
• Commodity Futures: Gold +0.1% at $1,816/oz; Crude Oil -0.3% at $70.34/brl; Copper +0.1% at $4.39/lb.