General Trend:
- Asian equity markets trade mixed, in line with Thursday’s US session
- BHP rises over 2% after agreeing to sell US shale assets for higher than speculated amount
- Nomura declines by over 5%, reported lower Q1 profits
- Australia’s AMP drops over 3% on H1 guidance
- Japan July Tokyo CPI higher than expected ahead of next week’s BoJ policy meeting (July 30-31st)
- 10-year JGB yields trade above 0.10%, BoJ again acts
- China PBoC skipped daily open market operation for the 6th straight session, drained liquidity for the week
- China PBoC set the yuan weaker on the session
- The Yuan currency has moved relatively quickly vs the US dollar in recent weeks, according to an IMF official
- New Zealand July Consumer Confidence hits lowest level since 2016
- Upcoming US Q2 Advance GDP in focus
- Japanese companies which may report earnings later today include Komatsu, Hitachi, Ricoh, Seiko Epson, NGK Insulator, Tokyo Gas, GungHo Online Entertainment and Yahoo Japan.
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened +0.4%
- ASX 200 Telecom index +1.4%, Energy +1.2%, Consumer Discretionary +1%, Utilities +1%, Resources +0.9%, Financials +0.8%, REIT +0.7%
- (AU) AUSTRALIA Q2 PPI Q/Q: 0.3% V 0.5% PRIOR; Y/Y: 1.5% V 1.7% PRIOR
- (AU) Australia to sell A$1.0B in Nov 2029 bonds on Aug 1st
- (NZ) New Zealand ANZ Jul Consumer Confidence Index: 118.4 v 120.0 prior; m/m: -1.3% v -0.8% prior (lowest level since 2016)
China/Hong Kong
- Shanghai Composite opened -0.1%, Hang Seng -0.2%
- Hang Seng Services index -0.8%, Utilities -0.5% Financials -0.2%; Property/Construction +0.4%
- (CN) China PBoc sets yuan reference rate at 6.7942 v 6.7662 prior
- (CN) China Jun Industrial Profits Y/Y: 20.0% v 21.1% prior
- (CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips OMO for the 6th consecutive session
- (CN) China Official: China Govt has a plan to retaliate against increases in US tariffs regardless of the volume of goods targeted – US press
- (CN) China to plan to establish asset restructuring fund for state-owned coal companies in H2 – Chinese Press
- (CN) Approx 50% of China company Hong Kong IPOs in July were under-subscribed – Chinese Press
Japan
- Nikkei 225 opened +0.3%
- TOPIX Marine Transportation index +0.9%, Iron & Steel +0.6%; Securities -3.4%
- (JP) JAPAN JUL TOKYO CPI Y/Y: 0.9% V 0.7%E; EX-FRESH FOOD (CORE): 0.8% V 0.7%E (both figures were the highest since March)
- (JP) BOJ AGAIN CONDUCTS A FIXED-RATE JGB PURCHASE OPERATION: Offers to buy unlimited amount of 10-year JGBs at 0.100% v 0.11% prior (2nd operation this week)
- (JP) Japan Finance Ministry (MOF): Confirms Masatsugu Asakawa to remain as FX Chief for 4th year; Shigeaki Okamoto named as new top bureaucrat for the Finance Ministry
- (JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: At recent G-20 discussed downside risks to the global economy, reaffirmed commitments on foreign exchange
South Korea
- Kospi opened +0.1%
- (KR) North and South Korea agree to hold military talks on July 31st – Korean press
- Hynix Semiconductor [000660.KR]: Announces KRW1.83T stock buy back; To spend KRW3.49T to build additional production line in South Korea
North America
- US equities ended mixed: Dow +0.4%, S&P500 -0.3%. Nasdaq -1%, Russell 2000 +0.6%
- S&P500 Utilities +1.1%, Energy +1.1%; Telecom -3.8%, Tech -1.5%
- (US) Pres Trump: believe the GDP numbers tomorrow will be terrific
Europe
- BP [BP.UK]: Confirms to acquire BHP US assets; raises dividend 2.5% to $0.1025 (first dividend increase in 15 quarters); Planning up to $5-6B in additional divestments to fund share buybacks of up to $5-6B over time.
Levels as of 01:30ET
- Nikkei 225, +0.3%, ASX 200 +0.8%, Hang Seng -0.3%; Shanghai Composite -0.1%; Kospi +0.1%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 flat; Nasdaq100 +0.2%, Dax +0.3%; FTSE100 +0.1%
- EUR 1.1637-1.1656 ; JPY 110.91-111.26; AUD 0.7372-0.7395 ;NZD 0.6774-0.6788
- Aug Gold -0.2% at $1,223/oz; Sept Crude Oil flat at $69.64/brl; Sept Copper +0.5% at $2.822 /lb
