Australia Demands Confirmation Of China Coal Ban

Dec 15 20, 06:25 GMT

General Trend

Hang Seng Property index drops over 1.5%, China’s property investment data was slightly above ests; Internet-related shares remain weaker amid regulatory scrutiny in China (Alibaba, Tencent)
Gree Electric said to have been removed from MSCI indices
Topix Air Transportation, Insurance, Marine Transportation, Iron/Steel and Banks indices are among the decliners in Japan; Travel-sensitive firms drop on halt to tourism program
Resources, Energy and Financial indices decline in Australia; Coal miners drop amid press speculation related to China
RBA minutes commented on China and iron ore
Australia Trade Min commented on press speculation related to coal and China; China’s coal production hit a record high in Nov
Australia regulator to allow banks to raise dividends in 2021 (as expected)
China temporarily halted domestic ratings agency amid concerns about corporate defaults, inflated ratings
RBNZ to undertake review of remit in 2024
Ringgit (MYR) weakens ahead of final budget vote
US Fed policy meeting to be held Dec 15-16th
Australia to release the annual re-weight of the CPI on Wed (Dec 16th)

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened -0.1%
(AU) Australia Regulator APRA: To no longer hold banks to a minimum earnings retention level, effective 2021, banks must be vigilant when deciding dividend levels
ANZ.AU Worldline acquires 51% stake in the commercial acquiring business of ANZ for A$485M
RFG.AU Australia ACCC begins court proceedings, alleging engaged in unconscionable and misleading conduct
(NZ) New Zealand Q4 Consumer Confidence: 106.0 v 95.1 prior (12-month high)
(AU) Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA): Excess cash at exchange settlement (ES) accounts at A$81.6B v A$77.0B prior
(AU) Australia Trade Min: I tend not to believe everything in China state owned media, but have seen a pattern of disruption in regards to Australia Coal
(AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) MEETING MINUTES:REITERATES WILL KEEP SIZE OF BOND PURCHASE PROGRAM UNDER REVIEW; MOST RECENT POLICY PACKAGE HAD BEEN WORKING AS EXPECTED
(AU) Australia total payroll jobs change between Nov 14th to Nov 28th: 0.4% v 0.3% prior; Weekly total wages 0.7% v 1.0% prior
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Head of Financial Stability Kearns: Australia banks are well capitalized with liquid assets; Better prepared than 08/09 financial crisis

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened -0.2%
(JP) Analysts speculate amid Japan PM Suga’s declining popularity that he may only last a year in office unless he gets pandemic under control and rolls out vaccine quickly – press
(JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) extending corporate funding program by 6-months (in line with prior speculation) – Nikkei

Korea

Kospi opened +0.1%
(KR) New Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will see South Korea to have tariff free exports to New Zealand starting in 2021, agreed to abolish tariffs on all South Korean exports within seven years
(KR) South Korea reports 880 additional coronavirus cases v 718 prior
(KR) South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff note that North Korea has begun regular wintertime drills, have not yet detected unusual signs

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.1%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.1%
(CN) CHINA PBOC CONDUCTS CNY950B 1-YEAR MEDIUM-TERM LENDING FACILITY (MLF) V OPERATION V CNY200B PRIOR: RATE 2.95% V 2.95% PRIOR
(CN) CHINA NOV RETAIL SALES Y/Y: 5.0% V 5.0%E; YTD Y/Y: -4.8% V -4.9%E
(CN) CHINA NOV INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION Y/Y: 7.0% V 7.0%E; YTD Y/Y: 2.3% V 2.2%E; Crude Oil Throughput 58.4Mt, +3.2% y/y (highest on record); Coal Production 347.3Mt, +1.5% y/y (highest on record)
China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos v Injects CNY20B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net drain CNY50B v Net drain CNY30Bprior
China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.5434 v 6.5361 prior
(CN) CHINA NOV FIXED URBAN ASSETS YTD Y/Y: 2.6 V 2.6%E
(CN) China Nov Surveyed Jobless Rate: 5.2% v 5.2%e
(CN) CHINA NOV PROPERTY INVESTMENT YTD Y/Y: 6.8% V 6.7%E
(CN) China National Bureau of Stats (NBS): Sees Q4 GDP accelerated from Q3; Cannot say there will be significant changes in 2021 economy due to lower base

Other

2330.TW Chairman Liu: Not concerned with inventory correction in H1, Researching Quantum computing

North America

AAPL Said to be planning 30% increase in iPhone production in H1 2021 due to strong demand for 5G phones; Apple said to have told suppliers it is planning to build up to 230M phones in 2021 – Nikkei
(US) Congressional aides say deal has been reached on omnibus spending bill; bill would keep govt open through Sept 2021 – press
(US) Attorney General (AG) Barr to leave role before Christmas (after his departure had been speculated); Trump appoints Jeff Rosen as acting AG
(US) Electoral College officially votes to give Biden sufficient electors necessary to become president – press
(US) Speaker Pelosi Spokesperson: Told Treasury Sec Mnuchin that unresolved items on Omnibus spending bill could be resolved easily
(US) Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY): Time for Democrats and Republicans to find consensus on Coronavirus; Need consensus before Holidays (Dec 24th)

Europe

(EU) ECB reportedly plans to loosen bank dividend caps on a case-by-case basis to allow 15% payouts of 2019-2020 cumulative profits; banks will have to apply to gain approval – press
(UK) BBC’s Kuenssberg: “After cheerier mood on Brexit, UK now denying there has been significant progress”

Levels as of 12:15ET

Hang Seng -1.0%; Shanghai Composite -0.5%; Kospi -0.7%; Nikkei225 -0.4%; ASX 200 -0.4%
Equity Futures: S&P500 0.0%; Nasdaq100 -0.1%, Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 -1.3%
EUR 1.2165-1.2143; JPY 104.15-103.98; AUD 0.7547-0.7508; NZD 0.7093-0.7070
Commodity Futures: Gold +0.4% at $1,839/oz; Crude Oil -0.7% at $46.66/brl; Copper -0.4% at $3.51/lb