Equities Trade Generally Higher, USD Trades With Weaker Tone

Jan 19 21, 05:49 GMT

General Trend

Hang Seng TECH and Property indices rise over 3%; CNOOC extends gain
Shanghai lagged during the morning session; Consumer firms declined; Financial and Property firms rose
Gainers in Japan include Transports, Automakers and large Nikkei components (Fast Retailing, Softbank)
Consumer Discretionary, Financial and Resources firms rose in Australia; Rio Tinto gained after production update and guidance
US Soybean FUTs decline over 1.5%
China officials continue to stress that there will be no sudden policy shifts in 2021
BOJ is due to hold its policy meeting on Jan 20-21 (Wed-Thurs)
BHP is due to report Q2 production on Wed (Jan 20th)
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors might issue results on Wed (US financial press); Both companies outperformed on today’s session
Companies expected to report earnings during the NY morning include Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Halliburton, Charles Schwab, State Street

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened +0.1%
RIO.AU Reports Q4 Pilbara Iron Ore production 86.0Mt v 83.6Mt y/y; Shipments 88.9Mt v 86.8Mt y/y; Guides initial FY21 Pilbara Iron Ore shipments at 325-340Mt
(NZ) New Zealand Q4 NZIER Business Confidence: -6 v -40 prior; Capacity Utilization: 95.1% v 92.6% prior
(AU) According to Capital Economic the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) may stop QE in April, sees Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) the first to raise rates in 2022 – press
(AU) Australia total payroll jobs change for Dec 19th to Jan 2nd: -5.5% v 0.4% prior; Weekly total wages -7.7% v 0.7% prior

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.6%
(JP) In its March review Bank of Japan (BOJ) said to plan to discuss ways to scale back its ETF buying program, cites sources; c.bank does not want to raise concerns of a full exit from its loose monetary policy – financial press
4502.JP To start trial in Japan for Novavax in February – Japan press
(JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Fiscal situation has deteriorated, tax rev will return after COVID, currently spending is up and tax rev is down due to pandemic
(JP) Japan MoF sells ¥1.2T v ¥1.2T indicated in 0.5% (prior 0.4%) 20-year JGBs: avg yield: 0.4430% v 0.3660% prior; bid to cover 3.35x v 3.0x prior

Korea

Kospi opened -0.0%
(KR) South Korea Vice Finance Min: South Korea long-term bond yield rise ‘noteworthy’; reiterates to closely monitor bond yields and market volatility

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.8%; Shanghai Composite opened 0.0%
(CN) China reports 118 new COVID cases (7th day above 100) v 109 prior
(HK) Hong Kong Finance Chief Chan: Expect to see recovery in H2 depending on vaccine – speaking from AFF conference
(CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY80B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY2.0B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net injects CNY75B v Net drain CNY3.0B prior
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4883 v 6.4845 prior
(CN) China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Official Zhao Chenxin: Urges local govts to speed up special bond funded projects, reiterates no sudden shifts to monetary policy this year; Monetary policy will provide necessary support to struggling companies this year
(CN) China State Asset Regulator SASAC spokesperson Peng Huagang: SOE bonds at generally reasonable level; China will strictly cap the proportion of short-term bonds in high-risk companies

North America

(US) Treasury Sec nominee Yellen: Time to act big for recovery with rates low; US economy was K-shaped before COVID – speech notes ahead of Jan 19th hearing
LOGI Reports Q3 $2.45 v $1.08e, Rev $1.67B v $1.23Be ; raises FY guidance
INTC Chairman said to be considering up to a $1.0B health/tech SPAC IPO – press
(US) Follow Up Biden Adviser Psaki: Biden administration not planning to lift travel restrictions on the UK, EU and Brazil on Jan 26th (comments following report that Trump would lift the ban for Jan 26th)

Europe

Levels as of 12:15ET

Hang Seng +3.2%; Shanghai Composite -0.0%; Kospi +2.9%; Nikkei225 +1.6%; ASX 200 +1.2%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.7%; Nasdaq100 +1.0%, Dax +0.4%; FTSE100 +0.6%
EUR 1.2099-1.2074; JPY 104.08-103.66; AUD 0.7719-0.7672; NZD 0.7141-0.7105
Commodity Futures: Gold +0.5% at $1,839/oz; Crude Oil -0.1% at $52.36/brl; Copper +0.3% at $3.62/lb