Asian Markets See Modest Moves Ahead Of Upcoming Central Bank Decisions And Earnings

Apr 26 21, 05:59 GMT

General trend

Asian equities trade generally higher after recent US gains.
Nikkei is trading higher [Topix Air Transportation and Iron & Steel indices have outperformed after earnings].
Japan corporate earnings remain in focus [ANA and Tokyo Steel rise; Canon Inc is due to report later today].
Shanghai Composite rose during the morning session [Consumer Discretionary index rises as China is planning measures to increase consumption during the May holiday; Healthcare index and vaccine producers outperform ].
Hang Seng is trading near the opening level [HK TECH index is off of the best levels; Property developers trade generally lower; Huarong Asset Mgmt’s USD bonds decline amid continued delay in reporting financials; Great Wall Motor drops after commenting on chip shortage].
HSBC to issue Q1 results on Tuesday (April 27th).
S&P ASX 200 has lagged, the index is currently near flat [Consumer indices underperform, travel-related cos. decline amid news related to NZ travel bubble; Resources index rises as China iron ore prices hit record high; Financials index also gains; NIB Holdings rises on guidance ].
Posco raised FY21 guidance.
Quiet session thus far for US equity FUTs.
BOJ is due to release rate decision and economic forecasts on Tuesday (April 27th).
Companies due to report during the NY morning include Albertson’s, Check Point Software, Lennox International, Otis Worldwide.

Headlines/Economic data

Australia/New Zealand

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.3%.
(JP) Japan LDP Ruling party lost 3 parliament election races to the opposition – Press.
6502.JP Investor, 3D (7.2% stake), has called for a strategic review after CVC bid.

Korea

Kospi opened +0.2%.
005490.KR Reports Q1 (KRW) Net 1.02T v 0.43T y/y; Op 1.07T v 0.71T y/y; Rev 7.8T v 14.6T y/y; raises FY guidance
096770.KR SK IE Technology (battery material unit) is expected to price IPO at KRW105,000 [top-end of range], expected to raise KRW2.25T – US financial press

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.1%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.3%.
(CN) PBOC Dep Gov Fan Yifei: PBOC will continue to crack down on cross-border gambling, said dealing with cross-border gambling is a long-term task – US financial press (update).
(CN) China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) sees 2021 GDP ~8%; USD/CNY exchange rate may have 2-way move around 6.40-6.50 – China press.
(CN) Beijing Education Commission noted violations related to 4 companies (GSX, TAL Education, Youdao, Yuanfudao), the companies were told to fix the issues immediately.
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4913 v 6.4934 prior.
(HK) Hong Kong-China southbound bond trading may start in July – HK press.
9618.HK Said to have paid salaries in Digital CNY as a trial of the PBoC Digital currency initiative – Press.

Other

(SG) Singapore and Hong Kong expected to announce their travel bubble today, which would go into effect May 26th (prior Nov) – press.

North America

(US) China General Administration of Customs added additional 31 US pork, beef, poultry production facilities and cold storage plants to qualified import list – press.
(US) President Biden to attend G7 and will call on allies to increase pressure on China to stop forced labor in Xinhiang – press.

Europe

(EU) EU Chief: Will allow COVID vaccinated US tourists visit this summer – press.
(IT) Italy Govt signed off on ~€192M package of invest and reforms that will be financed by EU €800B post-pandemic recovery fund Saturday (largest beneficiary of the EU stimulus program).
(UK) BOE’s Broadbent: Sees very rapid growth over the next couple of quarters – financial press.

Levels as of 01:15ET

Hang Seng +0.0%; Shanghai Composite +0.2%; Kospi +0.7%; Nikkei225 +0.5%; ASX 200 -0.1%.
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.1%; Nasdaq100 0.0%, Dax +0.1%; FTSE100 +0.2%.
EUR 1.2117-1.2088; JPY 107.96-107.66; AUD 0.7781-0.7739; NZD 0.7222-0.7188.
Commodity Futures: Gold +0.1% at $1,780/oz; Crude Oil -0.6% at $61.77/brl; Copper +1.1% at $4.39/lb.