Asia Drops After US Losses, UST FUTs Remained Volatile, Aussie Yields Pared Rise As RBA Acted

Feb 26 21, 06:37 GMT

General Trend

After opening broadly lower equity indices are generally closer to session lows
Earnings reactions: [Australia] Lynas, Austal, BWX rise ; Harvey Norman, Orocobre, Isentia, Kogan.com decline; [Hong Kong]: ASM Pacific declines
BOJ might release March bond buying plan after the market close
Companies expected to report during the NY morning include AMC Networks, Carter’s, DraftKings, Foot Locker, Fluor Corp, Liberty Media Corp, Liberty SiriusXM

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened -0.6%
(AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) TO BUY UP TO A$3.0B IN GOVT SECURITIES TO DEFEND 3-YEAR YIELD TARGET (Unscheduled operation)
(AU) Australia Jan Private Sector Credit M/M: 0.2% v 0.3% prior; Y/Y: 1.7% v 1.9%e
(NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Gov Orr: Reiterates could stimulate further with negative cash rate (OCR) if needed; NZD is operating somewhere near vast groups of people’s models of fair value
(NZ) New Zealand Jan Trade Balance (NZD): -626M v -600Me

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened -2.2%. Shanghai Composite -2%
(HK) Hong Kong stamp duty on stock trading to become effective Aug 1st
(CN) China PBoC Advisor Liu Shijin: China GDP could grow 8-9% in 2021 under usual circumstances, Q1 GDP could grow by >15% y/y; Says this speed of recovery would not mean China has returned to a ‘high growth’ period, cites the low base comparison with 2020 (China’s economy grew by 2.3% in 2020). – Press
(CN) China Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM): Opposes EU Blaming WTO Crisis on China, citing new EU Trade rules
(TW) China Customs: to stop imports of Pineapples from Taiwan starting Mar 1st, citing plant disease prevention
(CN) China Oil Reserves reported to have leveled at 100 days of imports, the oil reserves are said to be nearing storage capacity – US financial press
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4713 v 6.4522 prior
(CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY20B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY20B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net injects CNY0B v Net injects CNY0B prior
(CN) China Minister: In 2021 China employment will continue to be stable

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened -1.4%
(JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Local currency debt defaults are not 100% impossible; Stability in Yields is important
(JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Gov Kuroda: Price growth affected by various factors including oil
(JP) JAPAN JAN PRELIMINARY INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 4.2% V 3.8%E; Y/Y: -5.3% V -2.0%E
(JP) JAPAN FEB TOKYO CPI Y/Y: -0.3% V -0.4%E; CPI (EX-FRESH FOOD) Y/Y: -0.3% V -0.4%E
(JP) JAPAN JAN RETAIL SALES M/M: -0.5% V -0.3%E; Y/Y: % V -2.5%E
(JP) JAPAN JAN ANNUALIZED HOUSING STARTS: 801K V 799KE; Y/Y: -3.1% V -1.9%E
(JP) Senior BOJ Official: Various uncertainties exist over CPI outlook; Consumer prices likely to remain negative for time being
(JP) Japan Govt said to lift emergency declaration outside of Tokyo at end of Feb – financial press
(JP) Japan Finance Ministry: To use ¥3.0B of reserve funds to support small businesses
(JP) Japan MOF sells ¥3.0T v ¥3.0T indicated in 0.10% 2-year JGBs: avg yield: -0.0990% v -0.1270% prior; bid to cover 4.27x v 4.97x prior

Korea

Kospi opened -0.3%
(KR) Bank of Korea (BOK): To make outright purchases of KRW5.0-7.0T in Govt bonds in H1; Will take extra steps to stabilize market if needed

Other Asia

North America

(US) TREASURY $62B 7-YEAR NOTE AUCTION RESULTS: DRAWS 1.195%; BID-TO-COVER: 2.04 V 2.30 PRIOR
(US) SENATE PARLIMENTARIAN: MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE TO $15/HR RULED OUT OF ORDER FOR CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS
Boeing [BA]: Boeing 777 flying from Hong Kong to Madrid said to seek emergency landing in Moscow due to engine issue – Russia media

Europe

(UK) UK Finance Minister said to consider a dual share structure plan – UK Press
(UK) Feb Lloyds Business Barometer: +2 v -7 prior

Levels as of 00:20 ET

Nikkei 225, -3.6%, ASX 200 -2.4% , Hang Seng -2.9%; Shanghai Composite -2.1%; Kospi -3.3%.
Equity S&P500 Futures: -0.4%; Nasdaq100 -0.9%, Dax -0.4%; FTSE100 -1.4%.
EUR 1.2184-1.2137 ; JPY 106.43-105.84 ; AUD 0.7884-0.7819 ;NZD 0.7384-0.7308.
Gold -0.5% at $1,766/oz; Crude Oil -1.2% at $62.78/brl; Copper flat at $4.2070/lb.