Precious Metals Rose As USD Weakened

Jul 31 20, 06:08 GMT

General Trend:

US politicians have yet to announce stimulus deal, negotiations continue
Japanese equities decline amid the stronger Yen and earnings; Exporters and Insurers are among the decliners
Softbank drops amid possible delay in stock buyback plan
Japanese companies expected to report earnings today include Mizuho Financial, Daiwa Securities, Mazda Motor, Murata Manufacturing, KDDI Corp, Takeda, Japan Tobacco
Shanghai Composite reverses over 1.1% gain during morning session; Declining sectors include banks and property
Tencent rises in HK after US large-cap tech earnings, Apple suppliers also gain
Decliners in Australia include Energy, Resource and Financial firms
LG Chemical rises over 6% amid better than expected profits and outlook for EV battery unit
US 30-year Treasury FUTs extend gains in Asia
BoJ may issue bond purchase schedule for Aug after the Tokyo close
HSBC is expected to report Q2/H1 earnings on Monday (Aug 3rd)

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened -0.3%
(AU) Australia June Private Sector Credit M/M: -0.2% v -0.1%e; Y/Y: 2.9% v 3.0%e
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q2 PRODUCER PRICE INDEX (PPI) Q/Q: -0.4% V 0.2% PRIOR; Y/Y: -1.2% V 1.3% PRIOR
(AU) Australia Treasurer Frydenberg: Regulations need to keep up with Google and Facebook; To release draft of mandatory code for social media platforms
(NZ) New Zealand July ANZ Consumer Confidence: 104.3 v 104.5 prior
(NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ): Will seek to purchase NZ$940M v NZ$940M prior in government bonds next week

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.2%, Shanghai Composite -0.2%
(CN) CHINA JULY MANUFACTURING PMI (GOVT OFFICIAL): 51.1 V 50.8E (5th straight expansion); Non-Manufacturing PMI: 54.2 v 54.5e (6th straight month of expansion)
(CN) China reported to set up bailout fund for state companies, aiming to raise CNY100B to help avoid bond defaults – China Press
(CN) US Senate Committee passes bill allowing Americans to sue China over coronavirus – press
(CN) China National Health Commission Coronavirus Update for July 30th: 127 additional cases v 105 prior; Additional deaths: 0 v 0 prior
(CN) China Politburo reiterates stance to keep growth within a reasonable range; monetary policy to be more targeted – financial press
(US) Dept of Transportation refuses to approve flights from China, citing China govt actions on restricting airlines
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.9848 v 6.9902 prior
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY20B in 7-day reverse repos v Injects CNY50B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net injection CNY20B v Net injection CNY0B prior

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened -0.3%
(JP) JAPAN JUNE PRELIMINARY INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: +2.7% V 1.0%E; Y/Y: -17.7% V -19.3%E
(JP) JAPAN JUNE JOBLESS RATE: 2.8% V 3.1%E
(JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Yen has been rising ‘rapidly’ recently, Yen strength doesn’t correlate with trade balance shifts; Shifts in Yen will not have immediate impact on Japan economy
(JP) Japan Senior Finance Ministry (MOF) Official: Reiterates no comment on FX levels, watching FX markets with urgency, FX stability is important
(JP) Tokyo reportedly finds >400 additional coronavirus cases – Press
(JP) Tokyo Gov Koike: Tokyo confirms 463 additional coronavirus cases (record high); Tokyo must think of declaring emergency if situation worsens
(JP) Japan Cabinet Office updates economic outlook: Forecasts FY20/21 GDP (current year) at -4.5% (in-line with speculation)
(JP) Follow up: Bank of Japan (BOJ) appoints a new department head overseeing digital currencies – Financial Press
(JP) JAPAN JUN ANNUALIZED HOUSING STARTS: 790K V 815KE; Y/Y: -12.8% V -13.0%E
(JP) JAPAN JULY CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX: 29.5 V 28.4 PRIOR
(JP) Japan May Domestic Vehicle Production Y/Y: -61.1% v -46.1% prior

Korea

Kospi opened +0.5%
(KR) SOUTH KOREA JUNE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 7.2% V 2.3%E (fastest rise in over 11 years) ; Y/Y: -0.5% V -5.0%E

North America

(US) Treasury Sec Mnuchin: We are going back to the negotiating table; Best case scenario, deal is done in next few days
(US) Q2 ADVANCE GDP ANNUALIZED Q/Q: -32.9% (record decline) V -34.5%E; PERSONAL CONSUMPTION: -34.6% V -34.5%E (from July 30th)
(US) Pres Trump questions whether the election should be delayed until it can be done ‘properly, securely and safely’
(US) Sen Maj Leader McConnell (R-KY): Nov election date is set in stone
(US) Texas daily coronavirus related deaths hit 322 (record) – US financial press

Europe

(CN) China commission to EU: Opposed to unilateral cyber sanctions, says the two sides need more dialogue

Levels as of 1:20 ET

Nikkei 225, -2.5%, ASX 200 -2% , Hang Seng +0.1%; Shanghai Composite flat ; Kospi -0.3%
Equity S&P500 Futures: +0.1%; Nasdaq100 +0.7%,
EUR 1.1905-1.1837 ; JPY 104.82-104.18 ; AUD 0.7225-0.7183 ;NZD 0.6707-0.6679
Gold +1.1% at $1,962/oz; Crude Oil +0.6% at $40.13/brl; Copper +0.3% at $2,9270/lb