Japanese Automakers Rise Following Earnings

Feb 10 21, 05:49 GMT

General Trend

Asian equities opened mostly higher despite mixed NY trading session; Markets have remained generally in the green and closer to session highs; Hang Seng has outperformed [TECH and Finance indices rise]; Nikkei 2225 lagged [Fast Retailing declines]
Consumer Staples continued to gain in Shanghai, while financial-related cos. again lagged
Consumer Staples also outperformed in Australia
Earnings reactions: [Japan]: Toyota, Nissan and Honda rise; [Australia] CBA and Cimic declined, IAG rose
Japan companies due to report earnings include Toyota Motor, TEPCO, Renesas, Japan Display, Inpex, Tokio Marine, Sapporo Holdings, Pigeon Corp
Today is the last trading session for Shanghai ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday (Spring Festival)
Copper rises over 1% in Asia
Companies expected to report during the NY morning include Bunge, CME, GM, Interpublic, Coca-Cola, Penske Auto, Teva, Under Armour

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand
ASX 200 opened +0.1%
CBA.AU Reports H1 (A$) Cash profit 3.89B v 3.7Be; Net interest income 9.4B v 9.4B y/y
CIM.AU Reports FY20 (A$) 601M v 800M y/y; underlying EBITDA 1.9B v 2.1B y/y; Rev 12.6B v 14.7B y/y
(AU) Australia Feb Westpac Consumer Confidence: 109.1 v 107.0 prior; M/M: 1.9% v -4.5% prior

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened -0.3%
(JP) BoJ’s Nakamura: Japan economy trend is improving, must be prepared to respond effectively and timely to changes in economy, prices and financial developments; ETF purchases remain necessary tool
(JP) Japan Parliament approves nomination of economic professor Asahi Noguchi to Bank of Japan (BOJ)
9984.JP To invest $900M in gene sequencing company Pacific Biosciences via convertible bonds; official announcement expected tomorrow – press
7203.JP Reports 9M Net ¥1.47T v ¥1.71T y/y; Op ¥1.51T v ¥2.04T y/y; Rev ¥19.53T v ¥22.97T y/y; Raises FY20/21 guidance

Korea

Kospi opened +0.1%
(KR) South Korea Jan Unemployment Rate: 5.4% v 4.5%e (highest level since 1999); Jobs -982K v -628K prior (11th consecutive decline in jobs)
(KR) South Korea may release 100M barrels of oil reserves and non ferrous metal reserves if needed, due to commodity prices; will closely monitor commodity prices

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +1.1%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.3%
(CN) CHINA JAN CPI M/M: 1.0% V 1.0%E; Y/Y: -0.3% V 0.0%E; PPI Y/Y: +0.3% v 0.3%e (1st increase in 1-year); Pork prices Y/Y: 5.6% v 6.5% prior (2nd consecutive increase)
(CN) China Jan Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Y/Y: 4.6% v 6.2% prior
(CN) China Vice Premier Liu He: Economy is recovering well, financial system and the market mechanism are resilien – Xinhua citing comments from meeting with IMF’s Chair Georgieva
(CN) China Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) to promote consumption of new energy vehicles (EV) through policies of allocating of number plate in restricted area and subsidy to first time buyer
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4391 v 6.4533 prior
(CN) China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) met with major car chip producers yesterday, telling them to address the current shortage issue in China
(CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY20B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY50B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net drain CNY80B v Net drain CNY30B prior
(CN) Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA): China PBOC to issue CNY10B in 3 month bills and CNY15B in 1-year bills on Feb 19th
Yesterday after the close
(CN) CHINA JAN NEW YUAN LOANS (CNY): 3.580T V 3.500TE (record high)
(CN) CHINA JAN M2 MONEY SUPPLY Y/Y: 9.4% V 10.0%E
(CN) CHINA JAN AGGREGATE FINANCING (CNY): 5.170T V 4.600TE

Other

North America

(US) Senate confirms that Trump impeachment trial is constitutional by 56-44 vote
TSLA Said that shareholder, Baillie Gifford, wants to talk on Bitcoin limits for Tesla – Press
PFE UK Data suggests that 1 Pfizer dose of coronavirus vaccine gives ~2/3rds protection – Press
(US) Port of Los Angeles has 20 vessels anchored nearby waiting to dock and discharge cargo; Port of Long Beach has additional 30 – press
PACB Softbank to invest $900M in gene sequencing company Pacific Biosciences via convertible bonds; official announcement expected tomorrow – press

Europe

(UK) UK Chief Negotiator Frost: EU is still adjusting to the UK as an independent actor; we’ve had some small border issues like shellfish

Levels as of 12:15ET

Hang Seng +1.4%; Shanghai Composite +1.0%; Kospi +0.5%; Nikkei225 -0.0%; ASX 200 +0.5%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.4%; Nasdaq100 +0.4%, Dax +0.3%; FTSE100 +0.5%
EUR 1.2130-1.2108; JPY 104.72-104.51; AUD 0.7743-0.7725; NZD 0.7246-0.7222
Commodity Futures: Gold +0.4% at $1,844/oz; Crude Oil -0.2% at $58.25/brl; Copper +1.2% at $3.76/lb