General Trend:
- Asian equity markets trade generally higher after US gains; Shanghai lags
- Japanese automation machinery company Fanuc declines over 7% after outlook
- Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy statement omits prior reference related to reaching 2% inflation target around FY19/20
- China March industrial profits grow at slowest rate in more than 1-year, holiday effect cited
- At Inter-Korean summit, North Korea Leader Kim suggests possibility of more meetings with South Korea
- Markets are now looking ahead to BoJ Gov Kuroda’s post rate decision press conference (0630 GMT)
- Q1 Advance GDP data due out of the US and UK
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened +0.1%; closed +0.7%
- Mineral Deposits [MDL.AU] rises over 25% after receiving bid from Eramet
- (AU) AUSTRALIA Q1 PPI Q/Q: 0.5% V 0.6% PRIOR; Y/Y: 1.7% V 1.7% PRIOR
- (AU) Australia sells A$500M v A$500M indicated in Nov 2022 bonds, avg yield 2.4294%, bid to cover: 6.1x
China/Hong Kong
- Shanghai Composite opened +0.2%, Hang Seng +1%
- (CN) China yuan (CNY) exchange rate faces unchanged two-way movement trend; CNY faces depreciation pressures but not large – China Securities Journal
- (CN) CHINA MAR INDUSTRIAL PROFITS Y/Y: 3.1% V 10.8% PRIOR (more than 1-year low)
- (CN) China Daily Commentary Piece: Property controls should be targeted
- (CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY40B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY100B prior; Net: drains nil v CNY150B prior
- (CN) China PBoC sets yuan reference rate at 6.3393 v 6.3283 prior
Japan
- Nikkei 225 opened +0.7%; closed +0.7%
- (JP) BANK OF JAPAN (BOJ) LEAVES INTEREST RATE ON EXCESS RESERVES (IOER) UNCHANGED AT -0.10%, AS EXPECTED
- (JP) BOJ Quarterly Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices: Removes wording on reaching 2% inflation target around FY19/20
- (JP) JAPAN MAR JOBLESS RATE: 2.5% V 2.5%E
- (JP) JAPAN MAR PRELIMINARY INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 1.2% V 0.5%E; Y/Y: 2.2% V 2.0%E
- (JP) Japan Apr Tokyo CPI Y/Y: 0.5% v 0.8%e; Ex-Fresh Food (Core) Y/Y: 0.6% v 0.8%e
- (JP) JAPAN MAR PRELIMINARY RETAIL SALES M/M: -0.7% V 0.0%E; RETAIL TRADE Y/Y: 1.0% V 1.5%E
- (JP) JAPAN MAR ANNUALIZED HOUSING STARTS: 895K V 930KE; Y/Y: -8.3% V -4.8%E
Korea
- Kospi opened +0.9% ahead of Inter-Korean summit
- Kia Motors [000270.KR] reported Q1 results above ests, shares rise over 2%
- (KR) South Korea President’s Office Official: Confirms North Korea leader Kim said he would visit South Korea’s presidential house at any time; Hopes summit leads to meetings in North Korea and South Korea.
North America
- US equity markets ended higher: Dow +1%, S&P500 +1%, Nasdaq +1.6%, Russell 2000 +0.5%
- S&P500 Technology +1.8%, Consumer Discretionary +1.6%
Europe
- Shire [SHP.UK]: A top 10 shareholder said to seek improved offer – UK Press
Levels as of 02:00ET
- Hang Seng +0.6%; Shanghai Composite -0.2%; Kospi +1.4%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.2%; Nasdaq100 +0.2%, Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 -0.3%
- EUR 1.2095-1.2117; JPY 109.13-109.37 ; AUD 0.7538-0.7561 ;NZD 0.7051-0.7072
- Jun Gold flat at $1,318/oz; May Crude Oil -0.3% at $67.97/brl; May Copper -0.3% at $3.106/lb