Mid-session Update: China HSBC flash PMI remains in contraction; New Zealand budget does not alter credit profile with rating agencies


Economic Data

- (CN) CHINA MAY FLASH HSBC MANUFACTURING PMI: 49.1 V 49.3E (5th consecutive contraction)

- (JP) JAPAN MAY PRELIMINARY MARKIT/JMMA MANUFACTURING PMI: 50.9 V 50.3E; 3-month high

- (AU) AUSTRALIA APR CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 3.6% V 3.4% PRIOR

- (NZ) New Zealand Apr Net Migration: 4.7K v 5.0K prior


Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)

- Nikkei225 +0.5%, S&P/ASX +0.8%, Kospi -0.7%, Shanghai Composite +0.8%, Hang Seng -0.2%, Jun S&P500 -0.2% at 2,117


Commodities/Fixed Income

- Jun gold +0.2% at $1,211.5/oz, Jul crude oil +0.2% at $59.09/brl, Jul copper +0.5% at $2.84/lb

- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 2.9 tonnes to 715.3 tonnes; lowest since Jan 14th

- (JP) Japan investors bought net ¥1.1T in foreign bonds v bought ¥394.7B in prior week; Foreign investors bought net ¥187.3B in Japan stocks v bought ¥71.4B in prior week


Market Focal Points/FX

- Asia stocks are mixed, tracking the ripple created by the release of the latest Fed meeting minutes in late US trading hours. Members also considered introducing a more explicit signal foreshadowing a rate liftoff but decided to maintain the open-ended "to be determined on a meeting-by-meeting basis". US indices initially rallied but then sold off on the announcement that June rate hike, though unlikely, is not entirely off the table. S&P futures are down a modest 0.2% in electronic session, with the focus turning to Thursday's Philly Fed and Existing Home sales data.

- Investors were also having a tough time establishing a trend after the release of China flash manufacturing PMI figure, which missed consensus and remained in contraction for the 5th straight month. New Orders and Employment trends were still on the decline but at a slower rate, while New Export Orders component turned to a "decrease" from "increase." HSBC economist noted the figures "pointed to a further deterioration in operating conditions in April, with production declining for the first time in 2015" and suggest softer demand domestically and overseas. On the bright side, HSBC said, the data is "leaving plenty of scope for the authorities to implement further stimulus measures," which helps explain Shanghai Composite quickly reversing initial plunge to rally over 1% for the morning session. Also of note in China, Premier Li stated the country does have the ability to meet 2015 GDP target of about 7%.

- Ahead of tomorrow's BOJ policy statement, Nikkei report speculated policymakers may consider their first upward revision in overall economic assessment in nearly two years. Report pointed to yesterday's better than expected GDP figures and also trend of improving consumption. Today's May prelim manufacturing PMI was also notable, hitting a 3-month high and returning to expansion. USD/JPY has recently broken out to 2-month highs above ¥121.40, but consolidated some of those gains with a 30pip slide toward ¥121 figure.

- In other USD majors, trading in NZD/USD was also slightly more volatile as the pair finally moved back above 0.73 following 5 straight down days after the release of New Zealand annual budget. The govt lowered its expected surplus forecast to NZ$0.18B v NZ$0.56B at its half-year outlook, cut 2015 GDP to 3.3% from 4.0%, and raised unemployment expectations to 5.6% from 5.4%. However, 2016 and 2017 targets were largely left unchanged, and the Finance Ministry also deemed economy to be in good shape despite the headwinds of low dairy prices. Both Moody's and S&P affirmed their outlook and ratings after the budget - the former said it "shows a continuing positive trend in the government's finances", while the latter noted "the country's general government net debt to remain low."


Equities

US equities/ADRs:

- CRM: Reports Q1 $0.16 v $0.14e, R$1.51B v $1.50Be; Raises FY16 guidance; +6.6% afterhours

- OCR: CVS said to be in advanced talks to acquire Omnicare; May pay over $12B - financial press; +5.7% afterhours

- WSM: Reports Q1 $0.48 v $0.44e, R$1.03B v $1.01Be; +4.0% afterhours

- ACXM: Guides Q4 $0.24 v $0.23e, R$257M v $262Me, To Sell IT Infrastructure Management Business for $190M; increases buyback by $50M (3.7% of market cap); +2.9% afterhours

- YOKU: Reports Q1 -$0.40 v -$0.14 y/y, R$170M v $113M y/y; +2.0% afterhours

- LB: Reports Q1 $0.61 v $0.60e, R$2.51B v $2.52Be; -1.4% afterhours

- SNPS: Reports Q2 $0.68 v $0.63e, R$557.2M v $547Me; -3.5% afterhours

- OTEX: Guides Q4 $0.64-0.72 v $0.91e, R$440-455M v $482Me, CEO resumes full involvement in operations, initiates restructuring; -7.7% afterhours

- NTAP: Reports Q4 $0.65 v $0.73e, R$1.54B v $1.59Be; Raises dividend 9% to $0.18/shr; -8.1% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:

- Consumer discretionary: Domino's Pizza Enterprises DMP.AU +3.4% (to cut jobs); Genting Singapore 678.HK +2.1% (to sell shares in NCLH); Huayi Brothers Media 300027.CN +1.9% (real estate project); Panasonic Corporation 6752.JP +3.9% (to increase investment in auto business)

- Consumer staples: Warrnambool Cheese & Butter WCB.AU -0.8% (9-month results)

- Industrials: Worley Parsons WOR.AU +1.9% (Q3 results); James Hardie Industries JHX.AU +10.3% (FY4/15 results); China Cosco Holdings Co Ltd. 601919.CN +10.0%, China Shipping Development Co. 600026.CN +10.0% (set up jv to sign contract with Vale); Ningbo Port Co Ltd 601018.CN +10.0% (Ningbo port development)

- Energy: GCL-Poly Energy Holdings 3800.HK -2.8% (Q1 result)

- Materials: Metcash MTS.AU +2.3% (approached for bid)

- Utilities: Tellhow Sci-Tech 600590.CN +5.8% (approval to issue shares); Tokyo Electric Power Co 9501.JP +11.3% (to increase investment)

- Telecom: Chengdu Dr Peng Telecom & Media Group Co Ltd 600804.CN +1.1% (China broadband construction plan)

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