General Trend
- Hang Seng reversed the opening decline and ended near the highs during half-day session; TECH index rose over 1.5%
- Biden Admin official commented on ‘targeted’ restrictions on sensitive tech exports to China
- Australia’s Telecom and Resources indices outperformed after earnings from Telstra and Newcrest; AMP declined over 10% after Ares withdrew offer
- Shanghai markets are closed Feb 11-17th for the Lunar New Year Holiday, HK markets are closed Feb 12-15th (Fri-Mon)
- Companies expected to report during the NY morning include CyberArk Software, Generac, Kellogg, Kraft Heinz, Lab Corp, Pepsico, Restaurant Brands International, Ryder System, Molson Coors, Tempur Sealy, Tyson Foods, Zebra Technologies
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened -0.3%
- TLS.AU Reports H1 (A$) Net 1.10B v 1.14B y/y, underlying EBITDA 3.3B v 3.9B y/y; Rev 11.0B v 12.2B y/y; Cuts FY21 guidance
- AMP.AU Reports FY20 (A$) underlying Net 295M v 464M y/y; Rev 3.4B v 4.0B y/y; Ares will not move forward with A$1.85/shr offer
- NCM.AU Reports H1 underlying net $553M v $280M y/y; EBITDA $1.15B v $756M y/y; Rev $2.17B v $1.79B y/y; board approves C$135M funding for Red Chris
- (AU) Australia Feb Consumer Inflation Expectation Survey: 3.7% v 3.4% prior
- (AU) Australia Treasury Sec Kennedy: Australia economy recovering faster than expected; Surprised labor participation back at record levels
- (AU) Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Board member Harper: Unemployment is too high and there is too much excess capacity in the economy for monetary stimulus to be fueling excessive stock and property valuations – press
Japan
- Nikkei 225 closed for holiday
- (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) said to seek clarification at its upcoming March policy review that it has room to deepen negative rates if necessary
- (JP) Follow Up: Japan not expected to end COVID state of emergency this week, ahead of March 7th end date; PM Suga held talks with Health Min Tamura on the matter; Could still start removing the directive next week in select prefectures that succeed in curbing the pandemic
Korea
- Kospi closed for holiday
- 096770.KR US International Trade Commission (ITC) affirmed a preliminary ruling delivered in February 2020 to support LG Energy Solution’s claims that SK Innovation used stolen trade secrets to develop its electric vehicle (EV) batteries; issued a 10-year import ban on some lithium-ion battery products by SK Innovation
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opened -0.1%; Shanghai Composite closed for holiday
- (CN) China President Xi and US President Biden speak (1st time since Biden taking office)
- (CN) Beijing, China plans to invest CNY1.3T on 300 key projects (including 100 major infrastructure projects) – Xinhua
- 2282.HK Reports FY20(HK$) Adj EBITDA -1.4B v +6,2B y/y, Rev 5.1B v 22.8B y/y
- (CN) China President Xi: Cooperation is only correct choice for China and US, US and China should respect each other, properly manage disputes constructively – Comments after call with Biden
- 700.HK Comments on exec Zhang investigation by Govt, matter is related to “personal corruption” not related to Weixin or WeChat
North America
- (CN) White house Senior Official: Will be changes to trade policy; Tariffs on China to remain in place while review on policy is taking place; Looking into targeted restrictions on sensitive technology exports to China; Trade policy will be based on premise US will be better off working with allies
- (US) Treasury Sec Yellen: Misuse of cryptocurrencies is a growing problem – speaking at Treasury Forum for financial sector innovation
- BMBL Confirms IPO pricing of 50M shares at $43/shr, above indicated range of $37-39/shr
- (US) JAN CPI M/M: 0.3% V 0.3%E; CPI (EX-FOOD/ENERGY) M/M: 0.0% V 0.2%E; CPI NSA: 261.582 V 261.800E; CPI Y/Y: 1.4% v 1.5%e; CPI Ex Food and Energy Y/Y: 1.4% v 1.5%e
- (US) President Biden said to be considering nominating economist Lisa Cook for a Federal Reserve Seat – Press
Europe
- (DE) German Chancellor Merkel: virus cases are falling steadily in Germany; the rate of 50 infections per 100K has come into sight
- (UK) According to British Retail Consortium the 3 national lockdowns for COVID cost retailers ~£22B, 2020 was the worst year on record – UK press
Levels as of 12:15ET
- Hang Seng +0.2%; Shanghai Composite closed; Kospi closed; Nikkei225 closed; ASX 200 -0.1%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.1%; Nasdaq100 +0.1%, Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 -0.1%
- EUR 1.2126-1.2113; JPY 104.65-104.56; AUD 0.7739-0.7712; NZD 0.7226-0.7204
- Commodity Futures: Gold -0.4% at $1,836/oz; Crude Oil -0.5% at $58.40/brl; Copper -0.3% at $3.76/lb
