Asian Indices Decline, Large-Cap Tech Tracks Weakness Seen In The US

Sep 04 20, 06:09 GMT

General Trend:

Aged care firms lag in Australia amid reported COVID-19 related deaths
Australian equities underperform; Consumer, Financial and Resource firms are among the decliners
Victoria (Australia) Premier Andrews expected to reveal roadmap to exit Lockdown on Sept 6th (Sunday)
Decliners in HK include Tech, Property, Financial and Gaming firms
Shanghai IT index outperforms, some chipmakers rise after report that China’s 5-yr policy plan might focus on the domestic semiconductor industry
Nikkei-weighted Softbank declines by over 2% after weakness in the US tech sector and drop in shares of Alibaba; The Topix Information/Communication, Pharma and Electric Appliances indices decline
Topix Iron/Steel and Banking indices rise; Honda rises after announcing a MOU with GM

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX200 opened -0.6%
(AU) Ramelius, Auckland International Airport, Westgold Resources, Zip Co and AUB Group to be added to the ASX200 Index; effective at the open on Sept 21st; New Hope, McMillan Shakespeare, Ooh!Media, Southern Cross Media and Orocobre all to be removed from ASX200
*(AU) AUSTRALIA JULY FINAL RETAIL SALES M/M: 3.2% V 3.3%E
(AU) Victoria state (Australia) reports 91 additional coronavirus cases v 113 prior; 59 additional deaths (Includes 50 people who died between July and August)
(NZ) New Zealand PM Ardern: To review NZ coronavirus alert settings on Sept 14th
(NZ) New Zealand Q2 Value of all Buildings Q/Q: -22.4% v -30.0%e; Residential Construction -19.1% q/q
(NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) buys NZ$450M v NZ$430M prior in government bonds as part of QE v NZ$450M sought
(NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ): Will seek to purchase NZ$1.35B v NZ$1.35B prior in government bonds next week

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened -1.4%, Shanghai Composite -1.4%
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC): China IC Fund raised HK$4.1B by selling part of its stake in the co. – financial press
(CN) China President XI to address China international trade and services on Fri evening , Sept 4th; China expected to announce additional opening measures at the fair, according to the press
– (CN) China Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM) Official: China Consumption market will maintain stabilizing and improving trend; Consumption growth to accelerate in Sept
(US) China Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM): imposes ‘temporary’ anti-subsidy measures on US NPA imports (N-Propanol), effective from Sept 9th
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.8359 v 6.8319 prior
(CN) Presidential Candidate Biden: I would sanction China Officials over Tibet human rights issues
(CN) Shanghai professor: “China will gradually decrease its holdings of US debt to about $800 billion under normal circumstances. But of course, China might sell all of its US bonds in an extreme case, like a military conflict” – Global Times (from Sept 3rd) – (CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY100B in 7-day reverse repos v Injects CNY120B in 7-day prior; Net Inject CNY0B v Net inject CNY100B prior

Japan

Nikkei225 opened -1.4%
(JP) Japan Ruling Party LDP Candidates will hold a public debate at Japan Press Club on Sept 12th (Saturday) – Press

Korea

Kospi opened -2.6%
(KR) South Korea reported to be deciding on extending level 2.5 social distancing over the weekend (from Sept 3rd)
(KR) South Korea confirms 198 additional coronavirus cases v 195 prior; 2 additional deaths
(KR) South Korea July Current Account: $7.5B v $6.9B prior (Largest surplus since Oct 2019); Balance of Goods (BOP): $7.0B v $5.9B prior

Other Asia

North America

(US) Speaker Pelosi and Treasury Sec Mnuchin agree to a stopgap bill that would avoid govt shutdown at end of Sept – press

Levels as of 1:20 ET

Nikkei 225, -1.2%, ASX 200 -3% , Hang Seng -1.7%; Shanghai Composite -1.5% ; Kospi -1.3%
Equity S&P500 Futures: %; Nasdaq100 -1.1%, Dax +0.1%; FTSE100 -0.4%
EUR 1.1858-1.1839 ; JPY 106.22-106.05 ; AUD 0.7280-0.7250 ;NZD 0.6714-0.6687
Gold +0.4% at $1,944/oz; Crude Oil -0.9% at $41.00/brl; Copper +0.4% at $2.9918/lb