BoJ Suggests Uncertainty About When Inflation Target Will Be Met

Apr 27 18, 06:46 GMT

General Trend:

Asian equity markets trade generally higher after US gains; Shanghai lags
Japanese automation machinery company Fanuc declines over 7% after outlook
Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy statement omits prior reference related to reaching 2% inflation target around FY19/20
China March industrial profits grow at slowest rate in more than 1-year, holiday effect cited
At Inter-Korean summit, North Korea Leader Kim suggests possibility of more meetings with South Korea
Markets are now looking ahead to BoJ Gov Kuroda’s post rate decision press conference (0630 GMT)
Q1 Advance GDP data due out of the US and UK

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

ASX 200 opened +0.1%; closed +0.7%
Mineral Deposits [MDL.AU] rises over 25% after receiving bid from Eramet
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q1 PPI Q/Q: 0.5% V 0.6% PRIOR; Y/Y: 1.7% V 1.7% PRIOR
(AU) Australia sells A$500M v A$500M indicated in Nov 2022 bonds, avg yield 2.4294%, bid to cover: 6.1x

China/Hong Kong

Shanghai Composite opened +0.2%, Hang Seng +1%
(CN) China yuan (CNY) exchange rate faces unchanged two-way movement trend; CNY faces depreciation pressures but not large – China Securities Journal
(CN) CHINA MAR INDUSTRIAL PROFITS Y/Y: 3.1% V 10.8% PRIOR (more than 1-year low)
(CN) China Daily Commentary Piece: Property controls should be targeted
(CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY40B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY100B prior; Net: drains nil v CNY150B prior
(CN) China PBoC sets yuan reference rate at 6.3393 v 6.3283 prior

Japan

Nikkei 225 opened +0.7%; closed +0.7%
(JP) BANK OF JAPAN (BOJ) LEAVES INTEREST RATE ON EXCESS RESERVES (IOER) UNCHANGED AT -0.10%, AS EXPECTED
(JP) BOJ Quarterly Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices: Removes wording on reaching 2% inflation target around FY19/20
(JP) JAPAN MAR JOBLESS RATE: 2.5% V 2.5%E
(JP) JAPAN MAR PRELIMINARY INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 1.2% V 0.5%E; Y/Y: 2.2% V 2.0%E
(JP) Japan Apr Tokyo CPI Y/Y: 0.5% v 0.8%e; Ex-Fresh Food (Core) Y/Y: 0.6% v 0.8%e
(JP) JAPAN MAR PRELIMINARY RETAIL SALES M/M: -0.7% V 0.0%E; RETAIL TRADE Y/Y: 1.0% V 1.5%E
(JP) JAPAN MAR ANNUALIZED HOUSING STARTS: 895K V 930KE; Y/Y: -8.3% V -4.8%E

Korea

Kospi opened +0.9% ahead of Inter-Korean summit
Kia Motors [000270.KR] reported Q1 results above ests, shares rise over 2%
(KR) South Korea President’s Office Official: Confirms North Korea leader Kim said he would visit South Korea’s presidential house at any time; Hopes summit leads to meetings in North Korea and South Korea.

North America

US equity markets ended higher: Dow +1%, S&P500 +1%, Nasdaq +1.6%, Russell 2000 +0.5%
S&P500 Technology +1.8%, Consumer Discretionary +1.6%

Europe

Levels as of 02:00ET

Hang Seng +0.6%; Shanghai Composite -0.2%; Kospi +1.4%
Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.2%; Nasdaq100 +0.2%, Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 -0.3%
EUR 1.2095-1.2117; JPY 109.13-109.37 ; AUD 0.7538-0.7561 ;NZD 0.7051-0.7072
Jun Gold flat at $1,318/oz; May Crude Oil -0.3% at $67.97/brl; May Copper -0.3% at $3.106/lb