General Trend
- Asian markets are generally higher following gains on Wall St, despite the mixed open; Modest moves have been seen thus far; Tech stocks are mostly higher after Nasdaq rise [Hang Seng TECH index rises over 3%; Softbank rises over 2%; Shanghai IT index lags ]; Transports trade generally higher [oil prices extended decline; various US airlines provided guidance]; Financials trade mixed amid decline in 10-year yields
- Australian equities outperform, reversed the opening decline [Consumer Discretionary and Financial indices rise; Energy and Resources indices lagged]
- Nikkei is close to session highs after the flat open [Transport, Information & Communication and Real Estate indices are among the outperformers; Banks lag (Nippon Life said to plan to sell shares in regional banks)]
- Shanghai ended the morning session near the opening level [Consumer Staples index rose; Banks index extended gain; IT index lagged]
- Hang Seng has pared the opening gain [TECH index rises; Financial and Property indices decline; Xiaomi extended gain on comments from FTSE Russell; China Mobile rises amid A-share speculation ;ZTE is due to report final earnings later today]
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened -0.1%
- AMP.AU Enters agreement with Dexus on AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund
- (AU) Australia total weekly payroll jobs change for Feb 14th-27th: -0.2% v 0.0% prior; Wages +1.0% v +2.1% prior
- (AU) Westpac Economist Bill Evans: RBA will likely extend YCC to Nov 2024 bond in order to “maintain credibility” and stay consistent with its economic forecasts
- (AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) MARCH MEETING MINUTES:LATER IN THE YEAR, MEMBERS WILL NEED TO CONSIDER WHETHER TO MAINTAIN APRIL 2024 BOND AS THE TARGET BOND OR SHIFT TO NOV 2024; REITERATES NEGATIVE RATES UNLIKELY
- (AU) AUSTRALIA Q4 HOUSE PRICE INDEX Q/Q: 3.0% V 2.7%E; Y/Y: 3.6% V 4.7%E
Japan
- Nikkei 225 opened 0.0%
- (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ Gov Kuroda: No change in stance that there are no current plans to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), BOJ scheduled to begin experiments on CBDC in spring 2021
- 0001.JP Said to be selling up to 30% of holdings of regional banks during FY21/22 – Japan press
- (JP) Japan said to be deciding on Thursday (Mar 18th) Whether to lift coronavirus State of Emergency Early – Press
- (JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Confirms cabinet approves cash handouts for low income families; nothing decided on US beef imports
- (JP) Japan PM Suga: Notes there are too many regional banks, BoJ low interest rate policy is weighing on profitability – Japan press
- (JP) Japan Jan Final Industrial Production M/M: +4.3% v 4.2% prelim; Y/Y: -5.2% v -5.3% prelim
Korea
- Kospi opened +0.1%
- (KR) South Korea Feb Exports Prices Y/Y: +0.2% v -1.9% prior; Import Prices Y/Y: -0.8% v -5.8% prior
- (KR) Greater Seoul, South Korea to implement tighter curbs on COVID prone facilities and workplaces; expand testing on foreign workers at industrial complexes in the area to better contain the coronavirus – Yonhap
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opened +0.7%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.1%
- (CN) Cofco Corp to merge international trading division with several domestic businesses to create a new agricultural commodity company before IPO – US press
- (CN) China regulator announces regulations for e-commerce platforms; urges e-commerce platforms to act in compliance with its regulations and protect the rights and interests of consumers
- 1810.HK FTSE Russell says Xiaomi will be eligible for re-inclusion in funds effective June 21st 2021
- (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.5029 v 6.5010 prior
- (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 CNY0B prior
- BABA Reportedly working on a disposal plan of media assets due to Chinese officials concerns – press
- (CN) China President Xi: China will go after “platform” companies that have amassed data and market power – press
Other
- (IR) Iran said to be considering increasing oil production – US financial press
- (SG) Singapore Q4 Final Unemployment Rate: 3.3% v 3.2% Prelim (3rd consecutive improvement)
North America
- TMST To raises prices on special bar quality products, effective May 3rd
- (US) House reportedly to consider PPP extension tomorrow through May (prior March) – press
Europe
- (UK) Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak (Fin Min): spoke with US Treasury Sec Yellen about Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocations; new SDR allocations would help low income countries
- (FR) France Central Bank (BoF) Economic Outlook: Raises 2021 GDP to 5.5% (prior 5%); Lowers 2022 to 4.0% (prior 5.0%); affirms 2023 at 2.0%
Levels as of 01:15ET
- Hang Seng +0.5%; Shanghai Composite +0.4%; Kospi +0.6%; Nikkei225 +0.6%; ASX 200 +0.8%.
- Equity Futures: S&P500 0.0%; Nasdaq100 +0.4%, Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 -0.3%.
- EUR 1.1939-1.1922; JPY 109.25-109.09; AUD 0.7760-0.7742; NZD 0.7207-0.7188.
- Commodity Futures: Gold +0.2% at $1,732/oz; Crude Oil -0.7% at $64.96/brl; Copper -0.2% at $4.13/lb.
