Equities Trade Mixed

Sep 16 21, 06:06 GMT

General trend

Energy cos. trade higher after recent rise in oil prices.
Asian financials trade mixed.
Hang Seng extended declines following the flat open, trades at lowest level since Nov 2020 [Bond trading halt/credit downgrades related to Evergrande hurt sentiment; Property sector declines amid contagion concerns, Financials also drop; Casino plays generally extend losses; TECH index drops over 1.5%].
Shanghai Composite declined during morning trading despite the higher open [Property index extends drop; IT, Industrial and Consumer Discretionary indices also decline; Consumer Staples outperform].
Nikkei has moved lower after the modestly higher open [Softbank Group extends recent declines; Topix Securities index declines by over 1.5%].
S&P ASX 200 has remained higher [Telecom index rises on guidance from Telstra; Energy, Financial and Resources indices also gain].
Japan unexpectedly reported trade deficit in Aug [exports to China slowed].
China’s Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM) sometimes holds weekly news conferences on Thurs.

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened 0.0%.
(AU) AUSTRALIA AUG EMPLOYMENT CHANGE: -146.3K V -80.0KE; UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 4.5% V 5.0%E.
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q2 GDP Q/Q: 2.8% V 1.1%E; Y/Y: 17.4% V 16.1%E.
(AU) Australia Sept Consumer Inflation Expectations: 4.4% v 3.3% prior.
TLS.AU To extend 5G coverage to 95% of population; Guides mid single digit EBITDA, High Teens EPS through FY25 – investor meeting slides.
(AU) US, UK and Australia will establish a security partnership for the Indo-Pacific that will involve helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, as Chinese influence over the region grows.
API.AU Received revised offer from Wesfarmers at A$1.55/shr cash (prior A$1.38/shr), to grant due diligence.
(NZ) New Zealand Fin Min Robertson: To raise COVID fund by NZ$7.0B, able to do so because of greater fiscal headroom.

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.3%.
(JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Kato: Considering convening an extraordinary session of Parliament to select new PM on Oct 4th.
(JP) Japan Aug Trade Balance: -¥635.4B v +¥2.9Be; Adj Trade Balance: -¥271.8B v +¥108.7Be; Exports to China y/y: 12.6% v 18.9% prior.
(JP) Japan Leadership Candidate Kono said to not plan on replacing or building additional nuclear reactors – Nikkei.
8698.JP To start OTC trading services for US companies.
(JP) Japan Leadership Candidate Kono: Must improve intelligence capabilities regarding North Korea missile launch, must offer tax exemptions to companies that boost distribution of wealth to workers, any new stimulus must first have targets before deciding size of spending.
(JP) Japan MoF sells ¥1.2T v ¥1.2T indicated in 0.500% 20-year JGBs, avg yield: 0.4120% v 0.4050% prior, bid to cover 3.20x v 3.65x prior.

Korea

Kospi opened +0.4%.
(KR) North Korea fired railway based missile yesterday – KCNA.
(KR) North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong (sister of Kim Jong Un): Earlier missiles were not a provocation.
042660.KR Developed a technology to store carbon dioxide captured in ship engine emissions.
096770.KR Shareholders approve plan to split off battery business.

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened 0.0%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.2%.
(CN) China said to be ‘slowing’ game approvals to enforce the stricter gaming rules – press.
(CN) China State Planner (NDRC): Approved 11 fixed asset projects in CNY100.6B during Aug; China economy is continuing recovery; Confident China will achieve full year economic [GDP] target of >6.0%.
3333.HK China authorities have told lenders to not expect any interest payments due next week to be made and likely miss 1 principal payment – press.
DIDI Said to have lost 30% of daily users following crackdown measures by China – FT
(CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4330 v 6.4492 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 drain CNY0B prior.
(CN) China Industry Ministry (MIIT): To increase data security in Internet of Vehicles.
(CN) China President Xi: China is seeking to work with other nations to promote the Beidou navigation satellite system construction – Xinhua.

North America

(US) President Biden said to be planning meeting with chipmakers on Sept 23rd – press.
(US) President Biden to remark on economy tomorrow at 13:45 ET.
AMC CEO Aron: Will accept Bitcoin for online ticket and concession payments by the end of year, expect we will also start to accept Ethereum and Litecoin – tweet.

Europe

(FR) France Foreign Affairs Min Le Drian: Australia move to halt submarine program is regrettable.

Levels as of 01:15ET

Hang Seng -1.7%; Shanghai Composite -0.7%; Kospi -0.4%; Nikkei225 -0.6%; ASX 200 +0.8%.
Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.1%; Nasdaq100 -0.1%, Dax -0.2%; FTSE100 -0.1%.
EUR 1.1821-1.1809; JPY 109.46-109.22; AUD 0.7344-0.7320; NZD 0.7139-0.7106.
Commodity Futures: Gold -0.1% at $1,792/oz; Crude Oil +0.3% at $72.80/brl; Copper -0.8% at $4.37/lb.