Nikkei Outperforms After Prior Losses

Apr 22 21, 06:08 GMT

General trend

Nikkei has risen by over 2% [the index lost 2% in each of the last 2 sessions; On Wed BOJ purchased ETFs for the first time since Mar; Japanese automakers have tracked gains in the US; Nidec is due to report earnings later today].
S&P ASX 200 has moved modestly higher after the flat open [Consumer indices move higher; Energy index lags (Santos and Woodside drop after issuing production updates; AGL declines on CEO resignation)].
Shanghai Composite pared gains during the morning session [Consumer indices declined; Bank and Financials indices also decline].
Hang Seng is currently trading near the opening level [HK TECH index has gained over 1%; Financials trade mixed; China Gas Holdings drops on equity raise].
HK earnings [China Unicom and China Life rise; Great Wall Motor declines; Ping An Insurance may report later today].
UMC rises in Taiwan amid report related to additional price hikes, SUMCO also rises in Japan.
Companies expected to report during the NY morning include American Airlines, Arch Resources, Biogen, The Blackstone Group, Cleveland-Cliffs, Quest Diagnostics, DR Horton, Danaher, Dow Inc, Freeport McMoran, Chart Industries, HCA Healthcare, Southwest Airlines, Nucor, Reliance Steel, AT&T, Union Pacific, Valero Energy.

Headlines/Economic data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened 0.0%.
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q1 NAB BUSINESS CONFIDENCE: 17 V 15 PRIOR; Business Conditions: 17 v 11 prior.
STO.AU Reports Q1 Rev $964M v $883M y/y; Production 24.8MMBOE v 17.9 y/y; Affirms FY21 guidance.
(NZ) New Zealand Fin Min Robertson: Cabinet to introduce measures to guarantee deposits up to NZ$100K per institution; To also include process for setting lending restrictions such as loan to value (LVR) ratios.
WPL.AU Reports Q1 production 23.7 MMBOE v 24.2 y/y; Rev $1.12B v $1.08B y/y.

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +1.3%.
(JP) According to a former senior Bank of Japan (BOJ) Official: BOJ has done everything it can to normalize policy under Gov Kuroda and will not make any major changes for the remainder of his term – Japan press.
(JP) Japan to decide on Friday on state of emergency for 4 prefectures – Nikkei.
(JP) Tokyo, Japan Gov Koike: Has asked Tokyo Govt to declare state of Emergency, discussing what restrictions will be announced.

Korea

Kospi opened +0.1%.
(KR) According to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, North Korea appears to be working to develop capabilities that can degrade or even defeat US missile defense systems deployed in the region – Yonhap.

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.3%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.3%.
2799.HK China said to consider support with China PBOC funds – financial press.
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4902 v 6.5046 prior (Strongest since Mar 18).
(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 CNY0B prior.
(CN) China Mar Swift Global Payments CNY: 2.5% v 2.2% prior.

Other

2303.TW Said to be increasing prices for chips with 8-inch and 12-inch wafers by ~15% in July – Press.

North America

Europe

(UK) Expected to release COVID passports as soon as May – UK press.
CSGN.CH Said to have amassed more than $20B in investment exposure related to Archegos – press.
CSGN.CH Reports Q1 (CHF) Net -252M v +1.31B y/y, Pretax -757M v 1.20B y/y, Rev 7.57B v 5.78B y/y; Sees CHF600M impact US hedge fund matter in Q2.

Levels as of 01:15ET

Hang Seng +0.1%; Shanghai Composite -0.2%; Kospi +0.1%; Nikkei225 +2.1%; ASX 200 +0.5%.
Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.1%; Nasdaq100 -0.1%, Dax +0.2%; FTSE100 +0.5%.
EUR 1.2047-1.2030; JPY 108.14-107.92 ;AUD 0.7764-0.7740; NZD 0.7215-0.7187.
Commodity Futures: Gold -0.0% at $1,792/oz; Crude Oil -0.4% at $61.09/brl; Copper -0.6% at $4.26/lb.