ANZ, James Hardie earnings underwhelming

Asian Market Update: ANZ, James Hardie earnings underwhelming; Maliki relents on Iraq PM leadership contest

Economic Data

- (CL) CHILE CENTRAL BANK CUTS OVERNIGHT RATE TARGET BY 25BPS TO 3.50%, AS EXPECTED

- (SL) Sri Lanka Central Bank leaves key rates unchanged (as expected)

Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)

- Nikkei225 -0.1%, S&P/ASX +0.3%, Kospi closed, Shanghai Composite +0.2%, Hang Seng +0.4%, Sept S&P500 flat at 1,953

Commodities/Fixed Income/Currencies

- Dec gold -0.2% at $1,312, Sept crude oil +0.1% at $95.70/brl, Sept Copper +0.2% $3.10/lb

- (CN) China MoF sells 2-yr bonds at average yield of 3.89%

- (CN) China July net forex purchase CNY37.8B v CNY88.3B sales prior - PBOC

- (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥300B in 1-3yr JGB, ¥200B in 3-5yr JGB, and ¥400B in 5-10yr JGB as well as ¥2T in T-bills

- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$1.5B in 2.75% 2019 Bonds; avg yield: 2.943%; bid-to-cover: 2.81x

- (US) Weekly Fed Balance Sheet Total Assets Week ending Aug 13th: $4.43T v $4.41T prior; Reserve Bank Credit: $4.39T v $4.37T prior; M1 y/y change: 11.4% v 11.4%w/w; M2 y/y change: 6.7% v 6.7% w/w

Market Focal Points/Key Themes

- Geopolitical worries have been dialed down to a simmer in the past 24 hours. Earlier today, Putin said Russia is committed to doing everything to stop the conflict in Ukraine and that it will not mobilize for confrontation. Subsequent eyewitness accounts saw some military vehicles crossing the border into Ukraine while humanitarian convoy remains in Russia. In Iraq, Al-Maliki has conceded Prime Minister post to president-appointed Al-Abadi, ending a week-long standoff in Baghdad, in exchange for immunity from future prosecution.

- Growing speculation on further easing in China in the wake of soft July lending figures was on display in a local press report discussing the possibility of selective interest rate cuts before the end of 2014. Report did note that overall RRR or interest rate cuts are not likely. Earlier, China National Energy Administration (NEA) reported July power consumption rising just 3% y/y to 509.7B kwh, down from +5.9% growth in June.

- In Australia, James Hardie is down over 7% after disappointing Q1 results, as revenue grew slightly but net profit fell 80% and FY15 guidance was below consensus. ANZ Bank posted a 9-month trading update - cash profit of A$5.2M was up 6% y/y, but FY14 revenue guidance was forecast at the lower end of prior range and NIMs declines slightly relative to H1. Separately, Australia Department of Employment estimated 12.3K job loss in the mining industry through Nov 2018.

- Two members of Japan PM Abe's cabinet visited the controversial Yasukuni war shrine on the anniversary of the end of WWII. Fin Min Aso reiterated the govt will watch Q3 data before deciding on whether to proceed with sales tax hikes, noting the economy continues its moderate economic recovery.

Equities

US markets:

- MNST: *ENTERS INTO PARTNERSHIP WITH COCA-COLA; KO to acquire 16.7% ownership interest for $2.15B; CEO: Coca-Cola can raise stake in Monster to up to 25% with Monster board approval; would not rule out Coke acquiring all of Monster - press citing media conf call; +22.3% afterhours

- ADSK: Reports Q2 $0.35 v $0.28e, R$637M v $596Me; +5.7% afterhours

- GCI: Icahn discloses 6.6% stake; seeks discussions with management about the planned separation - 13D filing; +4.9% afterhours

- SINA: Reports Q2 $0.17 v $0.06e, R$187M v $187Me; +3.9% afterhours

- JCP: Reports Q2 -$0.75 v -$0.98e, R$2.80B v $2.79Be; Exec: continue to take market share; in Q2 saw improvement in almost all aspects of the business - conf call; +3.2% afterhours

- MNK: Enters S&P500 index, replacing RDC; +1.9% afterhours

- AMAT: Reports Q3 $0.28 v $0.27e, R$2.27B v $2.29Be; +1.7% afterhours

- A: Reports Q3 $0.78 v $0.74e, R$1.77B v $1.75Be; Keysight separation on track for early Nov; +0.2% afterhours

- CQB: Rejects offer at $13/shr from Cutrale Group and Safra Group; -0.4% afterhours

- WB: Reports Q2 -$0.03 v -$0.08 y/y, R$77.3M v $37.6M y/y; -3.6% afterhours

- JWN: Reports Q2 $0.93 v $0.94e, R$3.30B v $3.38Be; raises outlook; -4.0% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:

- Consumer Discretionary: Clean Seas Tuna Ltd CSS.AU +16.1% (FY14 results)

- Financials: ANZ Bank -0.5% (9-month update); Bank Magellan Financial Group MFG.AU +6.7% (FY14 results); iSelect ISU.AU -2.8% (FY14 guidance)

- Industrials: James Hardie Industries JHX.AU -7.2% (Q1 results); Dah Chong Hong Holdings 1828.HK +3.6% (H1 results)

- Technology: BAIOO Family Interactive 2100.HK -13.7% (H1 results); TCL Corp 000100.CN +10.0% (H1 results; private placement); Sony Corp 6758.JP +1.8% (plans to make car cameras; NPD report); Nintendo 7974.JP +1.6% (NPD report)

- Telecom: China Mobile 941.HK +4.3% (H1 results)