Asian Equity Indices Generally Pare Gains

May 21 21, 05:54 GMT

General trend

S&P ASX 200 Resources index declines for 3rd straight session
Financials decline in Shanghai and HK amid recent focus on Huarong’s yuan-denominated bonds; Property names also trade generally lower after press report related to property tax trials
Tencent drops over 3% after reporting Q1 earnings
Companies due to report during the NY morning include Booz Allen Hamilton

Headlines/Economic data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened flat.
(AU) Australia Preliminary Apr Retail Sales M/M: 1.1% v 0.5%e.
(AU) AUSTRALIA MAY PRELIMINARY PMI MANUFACTURING: 59.9 V 59.7 PRIOR (12th month of expansion, record high); PMI Services: 58.2 v 58.6 prior (9th month of expansion).
(NZ) New Zealand Fin Min Robertson: Want to see a return to a sustainable fiscal position; Too soon to set target for net debt.
(NZ) New Zealand sells NZ$300M v NZ$300M indicated in May 2024, May 2028 and April 2037 nominal bonds.

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +0.5%, Shanghai Composite +0.1%.
(CN) CASS (govt think tank) Researcher said China could consider selecting Shenzhen and Hainan as the places to conduct trials related to property tax reform – China Sec Journal.
(CN) Follow Up: Said that China Industry Groups have urged domestic coal companies to increase production and curb prices.
(CN) China Internet Regulator says 105 Apps have violated data rules.
(CN) SCMP: Cryptocurrencies can still be purchased in China following the latest crackdown, individuals in China could still trade cryptocurrencies on overseas exchanges as of Thursday (May 20th).
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4300 v 6.4464 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 Net CNY0B prior.
(CN) China PBOC sells CNY25.0B v CNY25.0B indicated in 3-month and 1-yr bills in Hong Kong.

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.6%.
(JP) JAPAN APR NATIONAL CPI Y/Y: -0.4% V -0.5%E; CPI EX-FRESH FOOD (CORE) Y/Y: -0.1% V -0.2%E.
(JP) JAPAN MAY PRELIMINARY PMI MANUFACTURING: 52.5 V 53.6 PRIOR (4TH STRAIGHT EXPANSION); PMI Services: 45.7 v 49.5 prior (16th month of contraction).
(JP) Japan Govt said to not be submitting extra budget to current diet session that ends on June 16th – Press [in line].
(JP) Japan Econ Min Nishimura: Confirms will expand coronavirus state of emergency to Okinawa; Emergency to last from May 23rd through June 20th.
(JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: US proposal of 15% minimum global tax is progress; Need more discussion on topic.
(JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) renews swap agreement with Monetary Agreement of Singapore (MAS); Size remains unchanged.
(JP) Japan MoF sells ¥1.2T v ¥1.2T indicated in 0.500% 20-year JGBs, avg yield: 0.4450% v 0.4380% prior, bid to cover 3.48x v 3.34x prior.

Korea

Kospi opened +0.3%.
(KR) South Korea Apr PPI Y/Y: 5.6% v 4.1% prior.
(KR) South Korea May 1-20 Exports y/y: 53.3% v 45.4% prior; Imports y/y: 36.0% v 31.3% prior.
(KR) Press conference with South Korea President Moon and US President Biden will happen at 17:00EDT on Friday (May 21st) – Press.

North America

(US) Fed Chair Powell: Fed will issue a report this summer on US digital currency; Fed has not decided whether it will move ahead on a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Europe

Levels as of 01:20 ET

Nikkei 225, +0.9%, ASX 200 +0.2% , Hang Seng flat; Shanghai Composite -0.3%%; Kospi flat.
Equity S&P500 Futures: +0.3%; Nasdaq100 +0.3%, Dax +0.3%; FTSE100 +0.2%.
EUR 1.2239-1.2223 ; JPY 108.89-108.75; AUD 0.7780-0.7752 ;NZD 0.7207-0.7179.
Gold -0.3% at $1,877/oz; Crude Oil +0.5% at $62.26/brl; Copper -0.1% at $4.5250/lb.