RBA Leaves Rate Unchanged

Apr 03 18, 07:10 GMT

General Trend:

Technology share declines continue into Asia
Hong Kong listed utilities under perform; China President Xi urged curbs on pollution and coal usage
South Korean chipmakers track declines in Intel
Nikkei-weighed Fast Retailing in focus ahead of expected SSS figures (prior figures released after close)
Australian natgas producer Santos rises on higher bid from Harbour Energy
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) statement offers few surprises
Conflicting signals from Australia March manufacturing surveys
Australia money market rates continue to rise into new quarter
Growth in Japan’s Monetary Base slows to 2012 level
Chinese think tank expects Q1 GDP growth to maintain pace seen in Q4 2017

Headlines/Economic Data

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened -1.3%; closed -0.5%
TOPIX Electric Appliances Index -1%, Real Estate -0.5%
Monex [+18%,before hitting daily limit], 8698.JP Said to have made offer to acquire cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck – Nikkei
Renesas[-9%], 6723.JP INCJ may reduce its stake to ~33% in Renesas (vs 45.6% prior) – Japan press
Itochu, 8001.JP Japan suspends company from importing rice, barely after it imported barely that has pesticides above regulatory levels
Fanuc [6954.JP]: Declines over 2% after cautious broker commentary
(JP) Japan Mar Monetary Base Y/Y: 9.1% v 9.4% prior; Monetary Base End of Period: ¥487.0T v ¥475.2T prior
(JP) BoJ Tankan Inflation Survey: Japan companies expect consumer prices +0.8% 1-year from now v +0.8% prior; Companies expect consumer prices +1.1% 3-years from now v +1.1% prior; Companies expect consumer prices +1.1% 5-years from now v +1.1% prior
(JP) Japan Industry Min Seko: China retaliatory tariffs do not benefit any nation, want to talk metals tariffs on basis of free trade
(JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.2T v ¥2.2T indicated in 0.1% (prior 0.1%) 10-yr JGB; avg yield 0.032% v 0.062% prior; bid to cover 4.16x v 4.53x prior

Korea

Kospi opened -0.9%
(KR) South Korea Govt flustered with US as it continues to make claims outside of the most recent trade agreement – Korean press
(KR) SOUTH KOREA MAR CPI M/M: -0.1% V 0.1%E; Y/Y: 1.3% V 1.4%E
(KR) South Korea Finance Ministry Official reiterates to take measures in case of excessive FX movements
(KR) South Korea sells KRW1.85T in 30-yr bonds at 2.655%

China/Hong Kong

Hang Seng opened -0.6%, Shanghai Composite -1.1%
Hang Seng Utilities Index -1.4%, Energy -0.8%, Property/Construction, Info Tech -0.7%, Financials -0.4%; Consumer Goods +0.6%, Telecom +0.5%
Shanghai Composite Property sub-index declines over 0.5%
(CN) According to analyst from Savills, Beijing residential property market will reach a relatively stable level amid downside risks this year – China Daily
(CN) PBOC imposed daily limits on payments conducted on mobile phones – Japanese Press
(CN) China think tank CASS: Sees Q1 GDP at 6.8% – Chinese press
(CN) China PBoC sets yuan reference rate at 6.2833 v 6.2764 prior
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips OMO (8th straight session) v skipped prior; Net: CNY0B drain v CNY20B drain prior
(CN) China Govt putting pressure on lenders to curb local govt debt risk – press
(CN) China Finance Ministry (MOF): To cut resource tax on shale gas by 30% from April 1st
(CN) China State Media comments on recently announced tariff counter measures: Imposed the tariffs on US products to ‘balance losses’
(CN) China CBRC said to conduct inspections of certain large client loans – financial press
Looking Ahead: China March Caixin Services PMI due for release on Wed

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened -0.1%; closed -0.1%
ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index -1.3%, REIT -0.6% Financials -0.5%, Utilities -0.5%; Energy +2.2%, Resources +1.8%
Santos[+18.5%], STO.AU, Confirms received revised offer from Harbour Energy at A$6.50/shr/$4.98/shr ($4.70/shr cash and $0.28/shr special dividend) (prior offer was worth A$4.55/share), Reminder: Harbour made a A$4.55/shr offer for Santos about 6 months ago
(AU) Australia Mar AIG Performance of Manufacturing Index: 63.1 v 57.5 prior (fresh record high)
(AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) LEAVES CASH RATE TARGET UNCHANGED AT 1.50%; AS EXPECTED
Looking Ahead: Australia Feb Building Approvals and Retail Sales due for release on Wednesday

North America

US equity markets ended broadly lower: Dow -1.9%, S&P500 -2.2%, Nasdaq -2.7%, Russell 2000 -2.4%
S&P500 Consumer Discretionary -2.8%, Consumer Staples -2.5%, Tech -2.4%
CBS initial bid for Viacom reportedly values Viacom below current market value – press
(US) Treasury Counselor Justin Muzinich reportedly to be nominated as Deputy Secretary of Treasury – press

Europe

(UK) EU warns UK banks not to rely on Brexit transition deal – UK press
AZN.UK Along with Shire said to be anonymously paying healthcare professionals and organizations to have drugs promoted through consultancy fees and related expenses, or for travel and accommodation at events the companies sponsored – London Times
Looking Ahead: UK March Manufacturing PMI due for release

Levels as of 02:00ET

Hang Seng -0.5%; Shanghai Composite -1.1%; Kospi -0.3%
Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.2%; Nasdaq100 +0.2%, Dax -1.3%; FTSE100 -0.7%
EUR 1.2311-1.2292; JPY 106.01-105.69; AUD 0.7693-0.7652;NZD 0.7237-0.7195
Jun Gold -0.3% at $1,342/oz; May Crude Oil +0.1% at $63.06/brl; May Copper +0.6% at $3.06/lb