USD Index FUTs Decline After Prior Gain, Hold Above 90

Dec 29 20, 06:34 GMT

General Trend

Nikkei traded at highest level since 1990, largest component Fast Retailing hit record high; Softbank tracks gain in shares of Alibaba; Topix Air Transportation index rises over 3% after prior session’s decline
Hang Seng supported by rebound in Alibaba and TECH index; Property index lags
Shanghai Composite declined during the morning session, Consumer and Industrial firms lagged
Chinese 5G-related shares rise, ZTE jumps over 7%; China plans to add 600K 5G base stations in 2021 (vs. 580K y/y)
Australian equities rise upon return from recent holiday; Financials rise, Resources and Energy indices lagged
South Korea Kospi lags amid ex-dividends, SK daily coronavirus-related deaths hit record high
Samsung Display plans to further extend South Korean LCD production

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.3%
8601.JP CEO Nakata: looking at additional ¥15B in cost cutting measures over the next few years, have added 90 employees through China JV – press
Sumitomo Dainippon, MYOV Collaborates with Pfizer to develop and commercialize Relugolix in Oncology and Women’s Health; To receive up to $4.2B including $650M upfront

Korea

Kospi opened +0.1%
(KR) South Korea President Moon: Third round of cash handouts to be KRW9.3T (individuals and small business)
(KR) South Korea Dec Consumer Confidence: 89.8 v 97.9 prior (3 month low)
(KR) South Korea reports 1,046 COVID cases (back above 1,00 after 2 days below) v 808 prior
068270.KR May ask South Korea health authorities to review CT-P59 for emergency use, which then could be used as early as late January if approved

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.7%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.1%
(CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY20B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY20B in 7-day everse repos prior; Net Injection: CNY10B v CNY10B prior
(CN) China CSRC Chairman Yi Huiman: China will improve mechanism for prevention, early warning and disposal of market risks
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.5451 v 6.5236 prior
(CN) From Dec 11-20th China 8 key port container throughput +9.8% y/y; container throughput for foreign trade +11.9% y/y, +7% from prior 10-days – Xinhua citing China Ports and Harbours Association
CN) White House issues guidance to clarify executive order that barred US investment in companies with alleged ties to Chinese military; US Treasury clarified that the executive order released in Nov would be applicable to exchange-traded funds and index funds
(CN) China to sell ~20Kt of pork from state reserves on Thursday’s session (Dec 30th)
(CN) China online tutoring platform, Zhangmen, said to be in early stages of considering $300M IPO in the US – press
6688.HK To consider holding company structure with similar regulations to banks (as expected)
(CN) China sets first batch of 2021 fuel export quota 29.5Mt of oil product, +5% on 2020 – press

North America

(US) Treasury official: anticipates to begin sending $600 stimulus checks to individuals this week as previously planned; if Congress increases stimulus amount, will send top-up payments to eligible Americans
(US) House give bipartisan support for increased COVID checks to $2,000 (from $600), will move to Senate now; Needed two-thirds majority to pass and final count was 275 yeas, 134 nays. (Democrats 231-2, GOP 44-130, Independents 0-2)
(US) US Senator Sanders (I-VT): To delay NDAA (Defense act override) via filabuster to encourage a vote for stimulus checks first

Europe

(UK) Sky News Correspondent Adam Parsons tweets: “I understand that the European Parliament may wait until March before holding a vote to ratify the Brexit trade deal”
(UK) PM Johnson: Spoke to European council president Michel and said EU trade deal is a new starting point for our relationship

Levels as of 12:15ET

Hang Seng +1.0%; Shanghai Composite -0.3%; Kospi -0.2%; Nikkei225 +2.3%; ASX 200 +0.5%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.4%; Nasdaq100 +0.3%, Dax +0.6%; FTSE100 +1.1%
EUR 1.2243-1.2208; JPY 103.83-103.62; AUD 0.7600-0.7578; NZD 0.7124-0.7097
Commodity Futures: Gold +0.1% at $1,881/oz; Crude Oil +0.5% at $47.86/brl; Copper +0.1% at $3.57/lb