China property prices continue to fall

Asian Market Update: China property prices continue to fall; Greenback stays bid after FOMC

Economic Data

- (CN) CHINA AUG NEW HOME PRICES M/M: PRICES RISE IN 1 OF 70 CITIES V 2 PRIOR; Y/Y: PRICES RISE IN 48 OF 70 CITIES V 65 PRIOR; all-70 new home prices m/m: -1.1% v -1.2% prior; y/y: 0.5% v 2.5% prior

- (JP) JAPAN AUG MERCHANDISE TRADE BALANCE: -¥948.5B V -¥1.03TE; ADJ TRADE BALANCE: -¥924.2B (lowest deficit in 3 months) V -¥985.2BE

- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q2 GDP Q/Q: 0.7% (1-year low) V 0.6%E; Y/Y: 3.9% V 3.8%E

Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)

- Nikkei225 +1.1%, S&P/ASX -0.3%, Kospi -0.7%, Shanghai Composite +0.2%, Hang Seng -0.6%, Dec S&P500 flat at 1,994

Commodities/Fixed Income/Currencies

- Dec gold -1.0% at $1,223/oz, Oct crude oil -0.6% at $93.90/brl, Dec copper -0.2% at $3.13/lb

- SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings rise to 10,589 tonnes from 10,559 tonnes prior (highest since Oct 2013)

- (CN) PBoC to drain CNY10B in 14-day repos (16th consecutive drain); Injects net CNY8B this week v drained CNY5B in prior week

- (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥400B in 5-10yr JGB, ¥100B in 10-25yr JGB, and ¥30B in JGB with maturity over 25-yr

- JGB: (JP) BOJ Apr-Jun flow of funds report: Japan GPIF, other public pension funds sold net ¥1.1T in long-term govt in Apr-Jun - financial press

- USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1490 v 6.1450 prior setting (weakest setting since Sept 8th)

Market Focal Points/Key Themes

- USD/JPY hit new 6 year highs above ¥108.70, EUR/USD fell to 14-month lows below $1.2840, and AUD/USD hit 6-month lows below $0.8940 in the wake of mixed FOMC statement/updated projections/Yellen press conference. The Fed retained "considerable time" and "underutilization of labor" catch-phrases, but the hawkishly-predisposed Fisher joined Plosser's dissent. Staff projections lowered 2014 and 2015 GDP forecasts, but new median rate forecasts for 2017 and the long term (blue dots) stretched out to mid-4pct. Moreover, expectations for first rate hike in 2015 were reported by 14 members (12 prior), while those of first hike in 2016 are now 2 vs 3 prior. Finally, Fed chair Yellen in her press conference said its not fair to call Fed's forward guidance as calendar-based, and that the Fed will move sooner if it sees the need to do so, presumably conveying more data dependence. Tracking firmer USD, spot gold hit an 8-month lows below $1,225/oz.

- China property sector figures took another turn for the worse. Aug new home prices m/m declined in 68 cities (record high) of 70 vs 64 prior. M/M decline of -1.1% was also 4th consecutive decline, while y/y growth slowed sharply to just 0.5% from 2.5% prior. Also of note out of China, PBoC offered yield in its CNY10B open market operations was set at 3.5% - down from 3.7% and widely interpreted as another sign of an easing bias. Shanghai Composite reversed its initial slide to trade higher by 0.5% once the repo rate offer yield was announced.

- New Zealand Q2 GDP came in at a 1-year low of 0.7%, albeit slightly better than expected. Among the notable components, private consumption expenditure rose 1.2% v 0.1% prior, but exports slumped by -2.9% after rising 2.8%. NZD/USD traded off the lows on the release, rising about 30pips above $0.8110.

- Japan trade deficit was not as severe as feared, coming in at a 3-month lows, with exports down -1.3% v -2.6% expected. Shipments to the US are down 4.4% despite the weak JPY and exports to China fell 0.2% after rising 2.3%, but exports to Europe remained positive at +5.6%.

- Ahead of tomorrow's vote, Scotland referendum polls are still narrowly favoring the NO camp. YouGov poll on Scotland independence referendum stayed at 48% Yes/52% No forecast. According to Survation poll, the NO vote (including undecided) moved up by 1pt to 53%.

Equities

US markets:

- HNSN: Study finds Sensei Robotic System associated with statistically significant improved success rates compared with manual persistent AF Ablation; +13.9% afterhours

- UNFI: Reports Q4 $0.67 v $0.65e, R$1.76B v $1.74Be; +3.1% afterhours

- STLD: Guides Q3 $0.42-0.46 (ex acquisition) v $0.37e; +2.6% afterhours

- FEYE: Signs agreement with Mandiant to Deliver Industry's First Global Security as a Service Solution; +0.1% afterhours

- PIR: Reports Q2 $0.10 v $0.13e, R$418.6M v $427Me; -10.0% afterhours

- FLXN: Announces Clinical Hold of FX006 Phase 2b Clinical Trial in Osteoarthritis of the Knee; -22.6% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:

- Consumer Discretionary: Oroton ORL.AU +7.1% (FY14 results)

- Materials: Arrium Ltd ARI.AU -35.9% (capital raise); Jiaozuo Wanfang Aluminum Manufacturing 000612.CN -4.2% (aluminum futures lower)

- Energy: AWE Ltd AWE.AU +13.7% (shareholder raises stake)

- Industrials: Kubota Corp 6326.JP ++3.7% (analyst action)

- Technology: Asahi Glass 5201.JP +1.5% (press speculation on Op profit); Sony Corp 6758.JP -9.8% (cuts guidance, halts dividend)

- Healthcare: Guangdong Taiantang Pharmaceutical 002433.CN +1.1% (acquires medical e-commerce business)

- Utilities: Korea Electric Power Corp 015760.KR +5.1% (sells HQ site)