Commodity Currencies Also Rise After Previously Dropping

Aug 23 21, 06:49 GMT

General trend

Hang Seng rises after Friday’s drop [TECH index rebounds by over 4%].
Shanghai Composite extended gains during morning trading [IT index outperforms; Consumer Staples index pared gain after prior drop].
Nikkei 225 has also extended gains [Automakers rebound].
S&P ASX 200 has lagged [Financials underperform, Resources index rises].

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened %.
ZEL.NZ Received proposal from Ampol ar A$3.78/shr, A$5.2B; agrees period of due diligence and exclusivity.
SKI.AU Confirms to be acquired by KKR, Ontario Teachers’ and PSP Investments consortium at A$2.95/shr.
(AU) AUSTRALIA AUG PRELIMINARY PMI MANUFACTURING: 51.7 V 56.9 PRIOR (15th consecutive month of expansion, lowest since June 2020).
(NZ) New Zealand PM Ardern expected to again extend lockdown past the Aug 24th planned lifting with 35 new local infections today (total now 107), will meet with press at 16:00 today.
(NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) Chief Economist Ha: Delta variant raises uncertainty, not a game changer, NZD performing as usual.

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.7%.
(JP) JAPAN AUG PRELIMINARY PMI MANUFACTURING: 52.4 V 53.0 PRIOR (7th month of expansion).
(JP) Japan Cabinet approval rating -3.8ppt to 25.8% – ANN poll.
(JP) Said that Japan PM Suga will seek a dissolution of the lower house in beginning of October – Press.
(JP) Opposition-backed candidate Takeharu Yamanaka won the Yokohama mayoral elections – Japanese press.
(JP) Japan PM Suga: Top priority is fighting spread of coronavirus, humbly accepts the results of Yokohama Election.
(JP) Japan July Crude Steel Production 8.01Mt v 8.11Mt m/m, +32.5% y/y.

Korea

Kospi opened +0.9%.
(KR) South Korea Aug 1-20 Exports y/y: 40.9% v 32.8% prior; Imports y/y: 52.1% v 46.1% prior; Chip Exports y/y: 39.8% v 33.9% prior.

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened +1.3%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.3%.
(CN) China Sec Journal: Said that certain provinces in China will push back issuance of special govt bonds to Dec.
(CN) China regulators are considering forcing Chinese companies with lots of user data to hand over management and supervision of their data to a 3rd party firm if they want US IPO – press.
(CN) China Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM): China to sign additional free trade agreements and also ‘upgrade’ existing agreements.
(CN) China market regulator (SAMR) said to have halted over 40 IPOs in Shanghai and Shenzhen [timing uncertain], cites probe into an investment bank and law firm – US financial press.
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4969 v 6.4984 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.

North America

(US) Parts of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast being impacted by heavy rain from hurricane/tropical storm Henri.
(US) Treasury Sec Yellen said to have told senior White House officials she is in favor of reappointing Fed Chair Powell – US press.
(UK) PM Johnson announces will convene special G-7 meeting on Tuesday about Afghanistan, expected to ask US President Biden to delay withdrawal of US forces – press.

Europe

(SE) Sweden PM Lofven to step down after 7 years in November, also will step down as leader of the Social Democrats (not expected).
(DE) ECB’s Schnabel (Germany): Expect inflation to keep rising until the end of the year, especially in Germany, but expect it to fall “significantly” in 2022 – German press.
(UR) German chancellor Merkel says Ukraine should remain a gas transit state after 2024 and construction of Nord Stream 2; Would impose new sanctions on Moscow if necessary, in reference to potential use of Nord Stream 2 as a “weapon”.

Levels as of 01:15ET

Hang Seng +1.8%; Shanghai Composite +1.2%; Kospi +1.5%; Nikkei225 +1.9%; ASX 200 +0.4%.
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.4%; Nasdaq100 +0.4%, Dax +0.5%; FTSE100 +0.3%.
EUR 1.1724-1.1693; JPY 109.93-109.72 ;AUD 0.7165-0.7121; NZD 0.6856-0.6822.
Commodity Futures: Gold +0.3% at $1,789/oz; Crude Oil +1.8% at $63.24/brl; Copper +0.9% at $4.18/lb.