Reports » Asia

Asian stock market, economy and companies update (January 28, 2013)

Contributed by Trade The News

***Markets Snapshot (as of 05:00 GMT)***
- Nikkei225 -0.7%
- S&P/ASX +0.5%
- Kospi -0.3%
- Shanghai Composite +1.8%
- Hang Seng +0.5%
- Mar S&P500 +0.1% at 1,497
- Feb gold +0.2% at $1,659/oz
- Mar Crude Oil +0.2% at $96.00/brl

***Notes/Observations***
- Asian equity markets are diverging in the opening session of the week - the accusations of the currency wars perpetrated by Japan being the single uniting theme in the wake of the Davos summit. Nikkei225 is down nearly 1% as USD/JPY reversed its initial gains to trade back below ¥91 after Japan cabinet office unveiled an optimistic outlook for inflation in the upcoming FY. Korea's Kospi remains under pressure after a string of disappointing earnings from the local exporters last week. Shanghai Composite is at 7-month highs above 2,330 following upbeat 2013 GDP forecasts from China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).
- At Davos, policymakers took turns in lobbing the label of a currency war instigator at Japan. Bank of Korea Gov Kim said Japanese officials took their actions too hastily, but the most stern reprimand came from an ECB official calling for explicit discussions of competitive devaluations at next month's G20. ECB also acknowledged it is the least likely to participate - evidence of which was on display in the aggressive LTRO repayment last Friday that sent EUR/USD to multi-month highs. Eurozone officials also bickered among themselves - Spain PM Rajoy and France Fin Min Moscovici calling on the more able Germany to do more to stimulate demand and Chancellor Merkel deflecting those demands.
- Discontent among the disenfranchised Egyptians percolated to a boil, as conviction of the rioters from the Feb 1st fracas spilled over to more violence in three coastal cities, leaving more than 50 dead in clashes with police. Pres Morsi declared the state of emergency in effected areas and reached out to the opposition.

***Currencies/Fixed Income/Commodities***
- (JP) Japan PM Abe's advisor Takenaka: Not fair to say JPY has weakened too much; Correction from excessive strength has just started; ¥95 rate would be "appropriate"
- USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.2818 v 6.2205 prior close (weaker setting for 3rd consecutive session)
- Harvard Economist Niall Ferguson: Currency wars are unnecessarily overstated - FT
- (AU) Australia Newcastle port not affected by storms, operations normal - financial press
- SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings fall to 10,468 tons from 10,497 tons prior (lowest since 10,133 on Jan 10th)
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall by 1.8 tons to 1,329.9 tons (lowest since 1,320.8 on Sept 26th)

***Speakers/Political/In the Papers***
- (CN) China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) official 2013 GDP target is 8.4% - financial press citing CASS annual outlook
- (CN) China govt has not yet decided on expanding property tax trial - China press
- (CN) China Sovereign Wealth Fund (CIC) chief Lou Jiwei: China GDP can grow faster than 8% in 2013; Economy supports large part of global demand - financial press
- (CN) PBoC Dep Gov Yi Gang: Calls for better communication and coordination on foreign exchange among the G20; USD/CNY currently at equilibrium levels

- (JP) China incoming Pres Xi: Willing to improve relations with Japan amid the dispute related to Senkaku islands; Will seriously consider a bilateral summit - Nikkei News
- (JP) Japan PM Abe: Reiterates only bold policies will overcome both deflation and strong JPY currency - financial press
- (JP) Japan govt plans to sell inflation-linked bonds in FY13 - financial press
- (JP) Japan cabinet releases FY13 updated forecasts: Sees FY13/14 Real GDP at 2.5%, CPI at 0.5% - financial press
- (JP) Japan's new govt bond issuances projected at ¥42.8T under FY13/14 budget, down about ¥1.4T from FY12/13 budget - Nikkei News (update)

- (KR) Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA): 2012 steel production in South Korea rose just 0.9% to 72.9M tons
- (KR) South Korea Defense Ministry: No unusual signs from North Korea military

- (AU) Australia's state of Queensland hit by a "mini-tornado" on Saturday; Reports indicating significant damage near Brisbane - financial press
- (NZ) Poll indicated RBNZ's next rate move more likely a raise than a fall, likely later in the year or early in the following year; Upcoming decision expected to keep rates unchanged - financial press

- (SG) Singapore ruling People's Action Party (PAP) loses in by-elections; Still holds 80 out of 87 parliament seats

- (EG) Over 50 people in Egypt killed over the weekend amid fresh violence in the coastal city of Port Said some 140mi northeast of Cairo that spread to other locations; Pres Morsi declares state of emergency in 3 cities - financial press

- (EU) ECB's Coene: Ideally, ECB's OMT program would never be used so as to avoid risk of diminished commitment to austerity - financial press

***Equities***
- TM: Reports 2012 global sales +23% to 9.75M units
- HMC: Reports 2012 global car sales +19% y/y 3.82M units
- NSANY: Reports Dec Japan Auto production -23.3% y/y; 2012 production +3.2% y/y
- Suzuki 7269.JP: Plans to build 4th car facility in India, to boost output by 2x - Nikkei News
- Shin-Etsu 4063.JP: May report 9-month op profit above ¥120B on rev around ¥800B - Nikkei News
- Advantest 6857.JP: May miss FY12/13 op profit expectations due to weaker than expected sales of iPhone5 - Nikkei News
- Japan Airlines 9201.JP: May report larger 9-month op profit of ¥155B - Japan press
- (CN) China may lift 10-yr ban on game consoles - Chinese press
- Fonterra FCG.NZ: CEO Spierings: Declares products safe after testing discovered low levels of toxic dicyandiamide residues - NZ press
- MediaTek 2454.TW: May see Q1 Rev fall 10-15% q/q due to inventory adjustment by China's smartphone makers - DigiTimes (update)

***Economic Data***
- (CN) CHINA DEC INDUSTRIAL PROFITS YTD Y/Y: 5.3% V 3.0% PRIOR (4th consecutive increase)
- (JP) JAPAN DEC CORPORATE SERVICE PRICE INDEX Y/Y: -0.4% V -0.5%E (7th straight decline)
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND DEC PERFORMANCE SERVICES INDEX: 51.5 V 54.2 PRIOR
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA JAN SK CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: 102 V 99 PRIOR (8-month high)
- (TH) THAILAND DEC MANUFACTURING PRODUCTION INDEX ISIC: 23.4 V 32.3E
- (UK) UK JAN HOMETRACK HOUSING SURVEY M/M: FLAT V -0.1% PRIOR; Y/Y: -0.3% V -0.3% PRIOR