General Trend
- Nikkei has pared gain ahead of the upcoming holiday [Automakers trade higher; Topix Iron & Steel index gains ahead of earnings from Tokyo Steel; Electric Appliances index rises before Nidec’s earnings; Banks rise after gains in US financials; Transports also move higher].
- Japan markets are closed for a holiday on Thursday and Friday (Jul 22-23rd).
- Hang Seng declines after a higher open.
- Shanghai Composite gained 0.5% during the morning session [Consumer Discretionary index supported by guidance from Great Wall Motor; IT and Industrial indices also rise; Financial, Consumer Staples and Property indices lag].
- S&P ASX 200 has outperformed [Gainers include Financial, Resources and Energy indices].
- Companies due to report during the NY morning include Anthem, Baker Hughes, Comerica, Interpublic, JNJ, Knight-Swift Transportation, Coca-Cola, Lithia Motors, NASDAQ, Northern Trust, Seagate Technology, Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Verizon.
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened +0.3%.
- (AU) Australia PM Morrison: Had significant challenges with vaccine program, lockdown to impact on Q3 GDP.
- BPT.AU Reports Q4 Production 5.96 MMBOE v 6.8 y/y; Rev A$421M v A$320M y/y.
- (NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) buys NZ$90M in government bonds in QE auction v NZ$90M sought.
- (AU) Australia Jun Preliminary Retail Sales M/M: -1.8% v -0.7%e.
- (AU) Currently about 50% of Australia is in some sort of lockdown or restriction due to COVID.
Japan
- Nikkei 225 opened +1.3%.
- (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) June Meeting Minutes: Members agree to not hesitate to add easing if needed.
- (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Dep Gov Amamiya: Corp profits under pressure from rising commodity costs, like to continue improving; Domestic Economy picking up as a trend.
- (JP) Japan govt to extend employment subsidy program through the end of December – Nikkei.
- 7267.JP Said to be halting production in Suzuka Factory for 5 days in August – Press.
- (JP) Total number of COVID cases related to Tokyo Olympics since July 2nd now at 71; Organizing committee chief Muto did not rule out canceling the Games if cases spiked.
- (JP) Japan Jun Trade Balance: ¥383.2B v ¥460.0Be; Adj Trade Balance: -¥90.2B v ¥22.6Be.
- (JP) Shigeru Omi (top COVID adviser in Japan) said daily virus cases in Tokyo could hit a new record high [~3,000 cases] during the first week of Aug – Japanese press.
Korea
- Kospi opened +0.6%
- (KR) South Korea Jun PPI Y/Y: 6.4% v 6.6% prior (8th consecutive rise).
- (KR) South Korea Jul 1-20 Exports y/y: 32.8% v 29.5% prior; Imports y/y: 46.1% v 29.1% prior; Chip Exports y/y: 33.9% v 28.5% prior.
- (KR) South Korea Fin Min Hong reiterated warning about a possible decline in housing prices, as market undergoes a correction – South Korea press.
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opened +0.3%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.2%.
- (CN) Local government bond sales in China have become more ‘market driven’, cites recent bidding results related to the sale of new bonds – Shanghai Securities News.
- (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 sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4835 v 6.4855 prior.
- (CN) China State Council: To optimize fertility rate and promoting long-term balanced development of population – Xinhua.
North America
- (US) US Senate to vote on Infrastructure after 14:30 on Weds (July 21st).
- (US) Deputy Sec of State Sherman: Will engage with China when it is in our good interests and in a direct manner.
- AAPL Said will not introduce new 4G phones or iPhone Mini next year (2022), will only introduce 5G phones – Nikkei.
- (US) Weekly API Crude Oil Inventories: +0.8M v -4.1M prior (1st build in 9 weeks).
- US after the market close
- NFLX Reports Q2 $2.97 v $3.16e, Rev $7.34B v $7.31Be; Confirms in early stages of further expansion in Gaming business.
- UAL Reports Q2 -$3.91 v -$4.17e, Rev $5.47B v $5.31Be.
- JNJ New study finds one dose of J&J COVID vaccine is less effective against Delta and Lambda variants; adds to evidence that those inoculated with J&J vaccine may need the second dose, ideally of mRNA variety – NYT.
Europe
- (UK) Said that the UK Navy will permanently base 2 ships in Asia (exact location undisclosed) – Press.
Levels as of 01:15ET
- Hang Seng -0.4%; Shanghai Composite +0.6%; Kospi -0.4%; Nikkei225 +0.4%; ASX 200 +1.0%.
- Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.0%; Nasdaq100 -0.2%, Dax -0.2%; FTSE100 +0.1%.
- EUR 1.1784-1.1770; JPY 109.98-109.83 ;AUD 0.7340-0.7303; NZD 0.6934-0.6907.
- Commodity Futures: Gold -0.2% at $1,807/oz; Crude Oil -0.7% at $66.75/brl; Copper -0.6% at $4.23/lb.
