Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)
- Nikkei225 -2.9%, S&P/ASX -2.1%, Kospi -0.1%, Shanghai Composite -1.0%, Hang Seng -2.2%, Sept S&P500 -0.1% at 1,940
Commodities/Fixed Income
- Dec gold +0.4% at $1,106/oz, Oct crude oil -1.3% at $43.55/brl, Dec copper -0.2% at $2.43/lb
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 4.2 tonnes to 678.2 tonnes; 2-week low
- JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.27T in 0.1% coupon 5-year JGB bonds; Avg yield: 0.067% v 0.089% prior; Bid-to-cover: 3.49x v 3.45x prior
- (JP) Japan investors bought net ¥1.12T in foreign bonds v bought ¥902B in prior week; Foreign investors sold net ¥986B in Japan stocks v sold ¥627B in prior week
- USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.3772 v 6.3632 prior setting; Weakest Yuan setting since Aug 31st
Market Focal Points/FX
- Asian indices were on the defensive again after yesterday's outsized rally, tracking the aggressive selling in the US markets that were jolted by the record high JOLTS jobs data boosting expectations of September Fed liftoff. After yesterday's 7%+ jump in Tokyo, Nikkei225 is leading the downside with a near 3% drop in the afternoon session. Sept S&Ps were down another 10pts at the lows of 1,935 in early electronic trade before regaining composure.
- China inflation data dominated an otherwise active Asian economic calendar. Aug CPI hit a 1-year high of 2%, mainly driven by food CPI rising to 3.7% v 2.7% prior, as non-food component remained little changed at 1.1%. PPI meanwhile declined faster and for the 42nd straight month. Economists with Soc Gen noted more aggressive fiscal stimulus would be needed to curb the pressure on manufacturing investment. At the world economic forum, China Premier Li reiterated he was confident China could achieve 2015 GDP target, maintain yuan rate stable, and seek to avoid currency war.
- Late in the day, JPY fell sharply by about 90pips above 121.20 as LDP party official Yamamoto called on BOJ to boost QE in late October so as to ensure Japan inflation objectives could be met. Earlier, Japan's forward looking machine orders data showed a 2nd straight month of sequential decline, prompting the govt to cut its assessment of the sector. Despite the data, BOJ Gov Kuroda said fundamentals are sound and inflation trends improve steadily.
- Down under, RBNZ cut rates for the 3rd straight time as widely expected but also featured a more dovish than anticipated policy statement. RBNZ said some further easing in OCR is warranted and further depreciation of exchange rate was appropriate, as it revised its GDP, CPI, and 90-day bill rates lower. Traders priced in additional RBNZ easing after the statement, sending NZD/USD down by some 2% or over 130pips below 0.6260. In Australia, employment data was slightly better than expected, albeit some volatility in data was expected on methodology revision. Nonetheless, AUD/USD spiked up over 50pips above $0.70.
- S&P became the first rating agency to cut Brazil status to junk, lowering credit rating one notch to BB+. S&P said credit profile has weakened further since July 28, citing revision to budget proposals late last month. Based on the fiscal target cited, S&P said, Brazil would remain in deficit for the next 3 years. Brazil ETF EWZ, along with PBR and VALE, were down sharply afterhours following the rating cut.
Equities
US equities / ADRs:
- CNW: XPO acquires Con-way in $3B transaction for $47.60/shr cash; +33.0% afterhours
- PANW: Reports Q4 $0.28 (adj) v $0.25e, R$283.9M v $256Me; +4.8% afterhours
- SIGM: Reports Q2 $0.12 v $0.05e, R$58.1M v $55.8Me; +6.3% afterhours
- BOX: Reports Q2 -$0.28 v -$0.29e, R$73.5M v $69.3Me; +3.2% afterhours
-MTH: Guides Q3 $0.70-0.85 v $0.98e; Cuts FY15 $3.30-3.75 v $3.68e (prior $3.60-3.90) ; -8.0% afterhours
- KKD: Reports Q2 $0.15 (adj) v $0.18e, R$127.3M v $132Me; Authorizes $50M (4.4% of market cap) share repurchase; -19.4% afterhours
Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer discretionary: McDonald's Holdings 2702.JP +0.5% (Aug result); Shimamura 8227.JP +3.1% (H1 result speculation)
- Financials: Beijing Capital Development Co 600376.CN +0.6% (Aug result); Greentown China 3900.HK -1.2% (Aug result); Poly Property Group Co 119.HK -3.2% (Aug result)
- Industrials: Shenzhen Airport Co 000089.CN -1.7% (Aug result)
- Technology: Wistron 3231.TW +4.1% (Aug result); Asustek Computer 2357.TW -1.0% (Aug result); Hon Hai Precision Industries 2317.TW -1.2% (Apple Sept event ); Compal Electronics 2324.TW +0.8% (Aug result); InnoLux Corp 3481.TW -2.6% (Aug result)
- Materials: Chongqing Iron & Steel Co. 601005.CN -7.7% (private placement); China Steel Corp 2002.TW -0.3% (Aug result)
- Energy: Santos STO.AU -4.0% (speculation on asset sales)
- Healthcare: China National Medicines Corp 600511.CN +1.7% (to submit SOE reform plan); Sigma Pharmaceuticals SIP.AU -2.0% (H1 result)
Economic Data
- (CN) CHINA AUG CPI Y/Y: 2.0% V 1.8%E; 1-year high
- (CN) CHINA AUG PPI Y/Y: -5.9% V -5.6%E; (42nd month of decline)
- (AU) AUSTRALIA AUG EMPLOYMENT CHANGE: +17.4K V +5KE; UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 6.2% V 6.2%E
- (AU) AUSTRALIA SEPT CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 3.2% V 3.7% PRIOR; 3-month low
- (JP) JAPAN AUG PPI M/M: -0.6% V -0.4%E, Y/Y: -3.6% V -3.3%E
- (JP) JAPAN JULY MACHINE ORDERS M/M: -3.6% (2nd month of decline) V 3.0%E; Y/Y: 2.8% V 10.3%E; Govt cuts assessment of machine orders to "pickup is stalling"
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND JULY RETAIL CREDIT CARD SPENDING M/M: 0.5% V 0.3%E; TOTAL M/M: 0.1% V 1.1% PRIOR
- (UK) UK AUG RICS HOUSE PRICE BALANCE: 53% V 46%E
Contributed by Trade The News