Asian Equity Markets Trade Mostly Lower Following Mixed Session In The US

Sep 12 18, 06:47 GMT

General Trend:

Hang Seng declines for the 6th straight session
Meituan speculated to price HK IPO in the upper half of the expected range
Electric Vehicle company NIO’s IPO said to price at the lower end of range
China PBoC holds first OMO in 16 sessions, injects liquidity
China Agricultural Ministry cuts its 2018/19 soybean imports forecast amid trade war
Japan Q3 BSI indices move into positive territory ahead of the Oct 1st release of the BoJ Tankan Survey
US and Japan are speculated to hold bilateral trade talks on Sept 21st (financial press)
South Korea’s unemployment rate moves to the highest level since early 2010
South Korea sold 50-year bonds at lower yield
Australia Westpac consumer confidence has largest m/m decline since 2016
Australia monthly employment data due for release on Thursday

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened -0.1%
ASX 200 Financials index -0.4%, Telecom -0.2%, Resources -0.1%; Energy +1.8%, Utilities +0.4%, Consumer Discretionary +0.2%
(AU) Australia Sept Westpac Consumer Confidence Index: 100.5 v 103.6 prior; M/M: -3.0% v -2.3% prior (largest decline since 2016)
(AU) Australia sells A$1.0B v A$1.0B indicated in May 2028 bonds, avg yield 2.589%, bid to cover 3.2x
(NZ) ANZ expects next week’s release of New Zealand’s Q2 GDP to be overshadowed by forward indicators – US financial press
(NZ) New Zealand to offer NZ$250M in April 2029 bonds at auction on Thursday

China/Hong Kong

Shanghai Composite opened -0.2%, Hang Seng +0.2%
Shanghai Composite moved below the 2016 closing low
Hang Seng Consumer Goods index -1.9%, Services -1.5%, Telecom -0.9%, Financials -0.4%, Industrials -0.3%, Property/Construction -0.2%; Utilities +0.3%, Info Tech +0.2%
(CN) China A-shares show ‘value investing opportunity’ – Chinese Press
(HK) Certain property developers in Hong Kong said to raise commissions for agents in order to push sales – HK Press
(US) Pres Trump: The US is taking a very tough stand on China regarding trade
(CN) S&P downgrades 7 Local Government Financing Vehicles (LGFVS) in China
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): To inject CNY60B in 7-day reverse repos; Net: CNY60B injection (first open market operation held in 16 sessions)
(CN) China PBoC set yuan reference rate: 6.8546 v 6.8488 prior
(CN) China PBoC and securities regulator announced measures to improve supervision of credit-rating businesses as improvements in the quality of credit ratings are sought – Nikkei
(CN) According to research by Plug and Play valuations among start-ups in China are up to 3X higher than Silicon Valley – Japanese Press
(CN) China Premier said to call for stepped up oversight related to food and drugs – US financial press

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.2%
TOPIX Electric Appliances index -1.5%, Marine Transportation -1.2%, Iron & Steel -1%, Real Estate -0.6%, Securities -0.6%; Info & Communications +0.9%
Automakers trade generally lower, megabanks decline
(JP) Japan PM Abe: Says he met with China President Xi, agreed to work towards visit to China in Oct; reaffirmed the agreement to deepen Japan-China cooperation
(JP) Japan Economy Min Motegi and USTR Lighthizer are likely to hold trade talks in the US on Sept 21st – financial press
(JP) JAPAN Q3 BSI LARGE ALL INDUSTRY Q/Q: +3.8 V -2.0 PRIOR; LARGE MANUFACTURING Q/Q: +6.5 V -3.2 PRIOR
(JP) Japan said to consider a law which would eliminate postal deliveries on weekends, cites labor shortages – Japanese Press
(JP) Japan government said to consider certain drug price cuts in FY2019 – Japanese Press

Korea

Kospi opened +0.1%
(KR) SOUTH KOREA AUG UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 4.2% V 3.8%E (highest since Jan 2010)
(KR) South Korea Finance Min Kim comments after release of worse than expected Aug unemployment data: Does not expect short-term recovery in the labor market
North Korea, US and South Korea said to be considering Oct summit for second Kim-Trump meeting – Nikkei
(KR) South Korea sells KRW660B in 50-year bonds: yield 2.09% v 2.64% prior

Other

(ID) Indonesia Central Bank Official: Domestic lenders to help assist the central bank in the defense of the Rupiah (IDR) currency
(PH) Philippines President Duterte said to have ‘dared’ the military to stage a coup to remove him – Press
(SG) Singapore July Retail Sales M/M: -2.9% v 1.3% prior; Y/Y: -2.6% v 0.7%e
(TW) Certain companies in Taiwan said to have repatriated profits from China – Local Press

North America

US equity markets ended mixed: Dow +0.4%, S&P500 +0.2%, Nasdaq +0.2%, Russell 2000 -0.2%
S&P500 Communications Services +1%; Consumer Staples -0.4%
(US) EPA approves emergency fuel waiver for North and South Carolinas ahead of Hurricane Florence
(US) Weekly API Oil Inventories: Crude: -8.6M v -1.2M prior

Europe

(UK) Reportedly Downing street is ready to drop chequers plan if it is rejected by the EU – UK press
(UK) Group of 50 Tory Brexiter MPs said to be openly discussing desire to remove PM May from her position – ITV News
(EU) EU’s Juncker: EU firmly sticking to Brexit divorce terms demands but wants a close future relationship with UK
(UK) BOE’s Carney: Chinese financial system is “one of the biggest risks” for world economy – UK press
(FR) France govt cuts 2018 GDP growth forecast to 1.7%, cuts 2019 GDP growth forecast to 1.7%
IMF’s Lagarde: US-China trade dispute could cause shock to emerging markets – FT interview
(RU) Russia Energy Min Novak comments on upcoming meeting with US Energy Sec Perry: Says such meetings are important; oil market still vulnerable, in part due to geopolitics, need to continue to monitor the market and make decisions: Current oil prices are beneficial to producers and consumers

Levels as of 01:30ET

Nikkei 225, -0.5%, ASX 200 -0.1%, Hang Seng -0.3%; Shanghai Composite -0.3%; Kospi -0.3%
Equity Futures: S&P500 flat; Nasdaq100 flat, Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 -0.1%
EUR 1.1609-1.1583; JPY 111.67-111.44 ; AUD 0.7125-0.7093 ; NZD 0.6530-0.6504
Dec Gold -0.3% at $1,199/oz; Oct Crude Oil +0.9% at $69.86/brl; Dec Copper +0.2% at $2.629/lb