Asia Summary
Asian equity markets opened the session mostly higher. On Tuesday, the Dow rose by 0.7% amid earnings reports from Caterpillar, McDonald’s and 3M. The Nikkei 225 is attempting to have its 17th straight higher close.
Auto components manufacturer, Nidec Corp has gained over 0.5% after raising its FY profit forecasts.
Shares of technology name, Canon Inc, have gained over 1% on better than expected profits, higher guidance and plan to pay a special dividend. Nintendo has gained over 2% ahead of its earnings due on Oct 30th. In South Korea, LG Display has gained over 0.7%, as quarterly net profit and revenues beat consensus expectations.
In the financial sector, Japanese ‘mega banks’ have continued to gain following Sunday’s election results. Mitsubishi UFJ has risen by over 1.5%, while Mizuho Financial has gained over 1%.
Financials in Hong Kong are trading higher, as China’s 10-year government bond yield rose to the highest level since 2014. Shares of rail equipment company Zhuzhou CRRC are gaining, after declining earlier in the week on 9-month financial results. The Hang Seng Property index is also rising, adding on to the gains seen in the prior session.
In the Philippines, miners are trading generally higher amid speculation that the government could end the ban on open-pit mines. Global miners, Rio Tinto and BHP have traded higher on the session. On Tuesday’s session, US copper producers rose after copper traded higher by over 0.6%.
Australian retailers are trading generally lower. Wesfarmers has declined following its Q1 trading update, as the company reported a y/y decline in sales at its Coles unit. Woolworths and Harvey Norman have declined by over 1%, amid the trading update from Wesfarmers and release of Australia’s Q3 CPI data.
Following these inflation figures, the Aussie has declined by over 0.5%, as the data missed market expectations and CPI remained below the lower end of the RBA’s 2-3% inflation target. Amid the CPI data, Australia’s 3-year bond yield has declined on the session, after gaining ahead of the inflation figures.
In the Philippines, the Peso currency has hit lows against the US dollar not seen since 2006. Philippines Sept budget balance data (released on Tuesday) showed a deficit.
Looking ahead, Japanese companies seen reporting earnings later today include Chugai Pharmaceuticals, Daiwa Securities, Fanuc, Hitachi Chemical and Matsui Securities. Taiwanese tech firm UMC may also report its quarterly figures. On Thursday’s session, Australia’s ANZ Bank and South Korean chipmaker Hynix are due to report their respective results.
US companies due to report on Wednesday include Amgen, Boeing, Coca-Cola, Freeport-McMoran, International Paper, Las Vegas Sands and Visa.
Key economic data
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q3 CONSUMER PRICES (CPI) Q/Q: 0.6% V 0.8%E; Y/Y: 1.8% V 2.0%E; TRIMMED MEAN Q/Q: 0.4% V 0.5%E ; Y/Y: 1.8% V 2.0%E
(AU) AUSTRALIA SEPT SKILLED VACANCIES M/M: 0.0% V 0.3% PRIOR
Speakers and Press
Japan
(JP) Japan to consider tax benefits for companies that raise wages – Japanese Media
(JP) Japan said to consider proposing increase in the tobacco tax for fiscal year 2018 – Japanese Press
(JP) PM Abe Cabinet approval ratings rise in Asahi and Yomiuri Polls following recent elections
(JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Suga: To decide on extra budget for typhoon after monitoring
Korea
(KR) South Korea and China Defense Ministers said to have held their first bilateral talks in over two years on the sidelines of a regional security forum – financial press
China/Hong Kong
(CN) China NDRC to begin checking property prices for any ‘violations’
Australia/New Zealand
(NZ) New Zealand PM Designate Ardern: Grant Robertson to become Finance Minister
Asian Equity Indices/Futures (00:00ET)
Nikkei +0.2%, Hang Seng +0.7%; Shanghai Composite +0.1%; ASX200 +0.1%, Kospi +0.2%
Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.1%; Nasdaq100 -0.1%, Dax +0.1%; FTSE100 -0.0%
FX ranges/Commodities/Fixed Income (00:00ET)
EUR 1.1770-1.1753; JPY 113.97-113.75; AUD 0.7784-0.7717;NZD 0.6912-0.6881
Dec Gold -0.3% at $1,274/oz; Nov Crude Oil -0.1% at $52.42/brl; Dec Copper -0.3% at $3.19/lb
(CN) PBoC OMO: Injects CNY160B in 7 and 14-day reverse repos v CNY250B injected prior; injects net CNY0B v CNY140B prior
USD/CNY *(CN) PBOC SETS YUAN REFERENCE RATE AT 6.6322 V 6.6268 PRIO
(KR) Bank of Korea (BOK) sells KRW 2.4T v KRW2.4T offered 2-yr monetary stabilization bonds; avg yield 2.04% v 1.85% prior
(CN) China MoF sells 7-yr upsized bonds at 3.7714%, bid-to-cover 2.72x; 3-yr bonds at 3.6%; bid-to-cover 2.0x
Equities notable movers
Australia/New Zealand
FBU.NZ Guides FY18 EBIT for B+I is expected at loss NZ$160M; EBIT ex- B+I NZ$680-720M; names Ross Taylor as CEO, effective Nov 22nd ; -2.1%
WES.AU Reports Q1 Curragh coal production 3Mt v 2.5Mt y/y; Coles Sales A$9.37B v A$9.40B y/y; -2.3%
MSB.AU Teva reportedly seeking buyers for its A$40M Mesoblast stake – press; -11%
Japan
7203.JP Scaling back Mexico plant capacity by 50% and will reduce investment by 30%; -0.4%
6370.JP Raises H1 guidance Net ¥7.4B from ¥5.3B y/y; FY17/18 Net ¥15B from ¥13B; +8.7%
5486.JP Reports H1 Net ¥19.6B v ¥18.3B y/y, Op ¥32.2B v ¥31.0B Rev ¥482.4B v ¥446.1B y/y; -7.6%
China/Hong Kong
973.HK Reports H1 Net Rev €548.2M, +1.1% y/y (cc); -6.5%
