Asian Equity Markets Trade Mixed

Jun 05 18, 07:07 GMT

General Trend:

Asian equity markets trade mixed; data from Japan and Australia miss expectations
Chinese airlines move higher on domestic fuel surcharge
Australia Q1 Current Account and exports data miss ests ahead of Wednesday’s GDP release
RBA June policy statement generally in line with prior month, noted political situation in Italy and economic developments in emerging markets
Japan Household Spending unexpectedly declines to start Q2; leads to questions about whether Q1 weakness was really temporary
Japan May Services PMI eases from 6-month high; new sales rose at softest rate in 20 months
New Zealand Treasury suggests Q1 GDP growth may miss forecast, notes consumption and international growth
Philippines May CPI remains above target, but rises less than expected

Headlines/Economic Data

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.3%; closed +0.3%
TOPIX Information & Communications index +0.6%, Retail Trade +0.2%, Electric Appliances +0.2%; Securities -1.6%, Real Estate -1%
(JP) Bank of Japan (BoJ) Dep Gov Wakatabe: No specific policy tool in mind for future use; not thinking of US treasuries for asset buys – parliament
Toshiba, 6502.JP Confirms to sell 80.1% stake in PC business to Sharp for ¥4.0B; sees minimal impact on FY18 earnings
Fast Retailing [9983.JP] trades lower following release of May SSS
(JP) Japan Apr Household Spending y/y: -1.3% v +0.8%e; Japan Govt cuts assessment of consumer spending trend: Weakness can be seen
(JP) Japan May PMI Composite: 51.7 v 53.1 prior; PMI Services: 51.0 v 52.5 prior
(JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.2T v ¥2.2T indicated in 0.1% (prior 0.1%) 10-yr JGB; avg yield 0.048% v 0.046% prior; bid to cover 4.38x v 4.20x prior

Korea

Kospi opened +0.1%
LG Display [034220.KR] declines over 1% after speculation that China requested technology transfer related to OLED
(KR) South Korea May Foreign Reserves: $399.0B v $398.4B prior (record high)
(KR) South Korea think tank KDI: Govt’s minimum wage hike plan could hinder employment in the upcoming years, underpinning the uneasiness over drastic changes and the consequent impact on the market
(KR) South Korea Apr Current Account Balance (BoP): $1.8B v $5.2B prior; Goods Balance (BoP): $10.4B v $9.9B prior
Hynix, 000660.KR Confirms being investigated by China regulators
(HK) Hong Kong May PMI: 47.8 v 49.1 prior (close to 2-yr low)

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened 0.0%, Shanghai Composite -0.1%
Hang Seng Info Tech index +0.8%, Property/Construction +0.7%, Financials flat; Energy -1.6%, Services -0.6%
(CN) CHINA APR CAIXIN PMI SERVICES: 52.9 V 52.9E; PMI COMPOSITE: 52.3 V 52.3 PRIOR
(HK) Hong Kong May PMI: 47.8 v 49.1 prior (close to 2-yr low)
(CN) Airlines in China said to impose fuel surcharge related to domestic flights – US financial press
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): To inject CNY120B in 7 and 28-day reverse repos v CNY40B injected in 7 and 28-day reverse repos prior: Net: drain CNY30B v CNY20B injected prior
(CN) China PBoC sets yuan reference rate at 6.4157 v 6.4208 prior
(HK) Hong Kong Chief Executive Lam: government concerned by rising property prices

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened -0.1%, closed %
ASX 200 Utilities index -1.8%, REIT -1.7%, Energy -1.3%, Resources -1%, Consumer Discretionary -0.8%; Financials +0.3%
Fonterra, FCG.NZ Reports Apr collections: Total New Zealand 120.3M v 117.7M y/y; Australia 11.4M v 9.1M y/y
(NZ) New Zealand 10-month Budget Surplus NZ$159M better than forecasted NZ$3.4B
(AU) Australia May CBA PMI Composite: 55.6 v 55.3 prior; PMI Services: 55.9 v 55.2 prior
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q1 BOP CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE (A$): -10.5B V -9.9BE; NET EXPORTS OF GDP: 0.30% V 0.50%E
(NZ) New Zealand Treasury: Q1 GDP may miss budget forecast, to rebound later this year – Monthly Economic Indicators
Mortgage Choice, [-22%], MOC.AU Consulting with franchisees regarding a remuneration structure review; final terms still being finalized
(AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) LEAVES CASH RATE TARGET UNCHANGED AT 1.50%; AS EXPECTED

Other Asia

(SG) Singapore May PMI: 56.8 v 55.6 prior (record high)
(PH) Philippines May CPI y/y: 4.6% v 4.9%e
(PH) Philippines Central Bank (BSP) Chief Espenilla: Outlook continues to be a concern; will consider what additional adjustments are needed to anchor inflation expectations

North America

US equity markets ended higher: Dow +0.7%, S&P500 +0.5%, Nasdaq +0.7%, Russell 2000 +0.3%
S&P500 Consumer Discretionary +1.1%, Real Estate +1%
(MX) Mexico responds to US metals tariffs by announcing plan to impose 20% tariff on US pork legs and shoulders; effective from June 6th – financial press

Europe

(UK) May BRC Sales LFL y/y: +2.8% v -4.2% prior
(UK) PM May reportedly tells business leaders that a decision on the preferred post-Brexit customs option is imminent – press

Levels as of 02:00ET

Hang Seng +0.4%; Shanghai Composite +0.4%; Kospi +0.1%
Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.1%; Nasdaq100 -0.1%, Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 +0.0%
EUR 1.1703-1.1683; JPY 110.00-109.77; AUD 0.7656-0.7625;NZD 0.7040-0.7018
Aug Gold -0.2% at $1,294/oz; Jul Crude Oil +0.4% at $65.03/brl; Jul Copper -0.1% at $3.14/lb