General Trend
- Following the higher openings, Asian indices are broadly lower; Currently, most indices are closer to session lows
- Tech underperforms amid the rise in US Treasury yields, Financials outperform; Oil cos. also track strength in crude oil prices; Resource firms trade mixed amid copper price volatility
- Hang Seng TECH index has declined by over 5% [JD.com drops on news related to fintech unit], China Rare Earth rises on price increase; Shanghai IT and Consumer Staples indices reversed gains [Kweichow Moutai declined over 2.5%]
- Japan Electric Appliances and Marine Transportation indices decline; Iron/Steel index outperforms as Nippon Steel rose, Financials also rise
- Australia ASX 200 has outperformed [Resources, Financial, Energy and Consumer Staples indices rise; Treasury Wine rises on M&A speculation]
- Commodity currencies pared earlier gain
- BOJ Dep Gov Amamiya is due to speak at 6 GMT
- Taiwan Semi may release Feb sales this week
- Companies expected to report during the NY morning include Niu Technologies, Radnet, XPeng
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened +0.5%
- ALS.AU Acquires personal care and cosmetics company, Investiga; no terms disclosed; Trading in Q3 and Q4 remains resilient
Japan
- Nikkei 225 opened +1.2%
- (JP) US President Biden expected to host Japan PM Suga at White House as soon as April – US press
- 9432.JP Japan Govt finds officials broke rules by having dinner with NTT CEO – Japan press
- (JP) Japan Jan Current Account: ¥646.8B v ¥1.25Te; Adj Current Account: ¥1.50T v ¥2.21Te; Trade Balance (BoP): -¥130.1B v -¥39.3Be
- (JP) Japan Jan Preliminary Leading Index: 99.1 v 96.8e; Coincident Index: 91.7 v 91.6e; Japan raises view on coincident index
Korea
- Kospi opened +0.2%
- (KR) South Korea and US start scaled back combined military exercises (in line with annual plan)
- 005380.KR Halting production at ASAN plat March 8-14th
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opened +0.9%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.7%
- (CN) CHINA FOURTH SESSION OF THE 13TH NATIONAL PEOPLE’S CONGRESS (NPC) SETS 2021 GDP TARGET OF MORE THAN 6%, CPI ~3%, outlines 14th 5 year plan for 2021-2025
- (CN) CHINA FEB YTD TRADE BALANCE: $103.3B V $59.0BE; YTD Exports: 60.6% v 40.0%e; YTD Imports: 22.2% v 16.0%e; Rare earth exports 7.07K, +30% y/y
- (CN) CHINA FEB YTD TRADE BALANCE (CNY): 675.9B V 348.0BE; YTD Exports: 50.1% v 27.3%e; YTD Imports: 14.5% v 12.4%e; Coal imports 41.1Mt, -39.5% y/y v 39.1Mt prior
- (CN) CHINA FEB FOREIGN RESERVES: $3.205T V $3.200TE
- 9618.HK Fintech unit expected to drop its current plans to list on Shanghai Star Market due to changing business circumstances after the halt of Ant Group’s listing last November – SCMP
- 600010.CN Raises 2021 prices on rare earth 29% from CNY12,600/t to CNY16,269/t – filing
- (CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net CNY0B v Net drain CNY10B prior
- (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4795 v 6.4904 prior
- 388.HK Head of listings Chan: IPO pipe line is “looking solid”; Seeing lots of interest from new economy companies, confirms looking at viability of SPACS
- (CN) China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Vice Chair Ning: Basis of China’s economic recovery isn’t solid yet, confident of reaching 2021 economic targets; affirms stance that liquidity will be kept reasonable ample, given nominal GDP growth could be relatively high
Other
- ARAMCO.SA Houthis launched drone and missile attack over the weekend on facilities in the east, said to be no loss of life or property, as attacks were intercepted – press
North America
- (US) Senate passed Pres Biden’s $1.9T COVID relief bill along party lines today, after given some concessions to Sen Manchin (D-VW)
- GE Close to deal to combine aircraft leasing unit with Aercap, in a $30B deal – press
Europe
- (UK) According to recent survey in UK as restaurants and shops prepare to re-open, confidence is at a 12-month high – UK press
- (UK) UK Chief Negotiator Frost: EU needs to stop sulking over Brexit and turn it into a success; EU’s behavior “has significantly undermined cross-community confidence in the Protocol” – UK press
- (IT) Italy Health Min Speranza: The second wave never stopped, we’re seeing a very strong pickup due to the variants, which is leading us to take measures that are more restrictive – Italian press
Levels as of 12:15ET
- Hang Seng -1.7%; Shanghai Composite -1.2%; Kospi -0.8%; Nikkei225 -0.6%; ASX 200 +0.4%.
- Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.4%; Nasdaq100 -1.1%, Dax -0.6%; FTSE100 -0.4%.
- EUR 1.1932-1.1899; JPY 108.49-108.31; AUD 0.7722-0.7685; NZD 0.7192-0.7153.
- Commodity Futures: Gold +0.4% at $1,705/oz; Crude Oil +2.0% at $67.38/brl; Copper -2.1% at $4.03/lb.
