Asian Mid-session Update: Samsung Electronics tips a big Q2 miss; Large number of China SMEs halt trading as market drubbing resumes
Economic Data
- (AU) AUSTRALIA JUN AIG PERFORMANCE OF CONSTRUCTION INDEX: 46.4 V 47.8 PRIOR (3rd consecutive contraction)
- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index: 111.0 v 116.3 prior
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q2 NZIER BUSINESS OPINION SURVEY: 5 V 23 PRIOR (3 year low)
- (JP) JAPAN JUN OFFICIAL RESERVE ASSETS: $1.24T V $1.25T PRIOR
Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)
- Nikkei225 +1.3%, S&P/ASX +1.7%, Kospi -0.5%, Shanghai Composite -2.8%, Hang Seng +0.1%, Sept S&P500 +0.3% at 2,070
Commodities/Fixed Income
- Aug gold -0.5% at $1,167/oz, Aug crude oil +1.0% at $53.04/brl, Sept copper -0.1% at $2.53/lb
- SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings fall to 10,115 tonnes from 10,119 tonnes
- (CN) PBoC to inject CNY50B in 7-day reverse repos (4th consecutive injection); Offer yield at 2.5%, unchanged from prior.
- (KR) South Korea sells 30-yr govt bond at 2.77%
Market Focal Points/FX
- Investors remain on edge over the Greek uncertainty despite the broadly welcomed resignation of controversial Fin Min Varoufakis. His replacement Tsakalotos has been the point man on negotiations with creditors thus far and continues to push for resuming the dialogue, just as euro area leaders prepare for a summit to discuss Greece on Tuesday. ECB has already refused to raise the ELA ceiling in today's decision, but ECB's Novotny introduced the possibility of some type of bridge financing without a bailout to be considered. Commentary from EU commissioner Oettinger in German press was more resolute, stating his opposition for Greece to remain in EMU.
- Shanghai Composite resumed its steady decline after yesterday's late session bounce, though participation of traded shares continued to decline. Over 200 Chinese-listed firms halted trading in their shares to protect their market caps, raising the total of halts in the prior week to 560 firms or 23% of A-share listed names. The decline continues despite the 11th straight day of decline in total margin debt to CNY1.77T v CNY1.91T last week. Comments from China Premier Li, who said the economy is resilient to risk, have also done little to quell the down draft.
- Preliminary Q2 results from Samsung Electronics were notably softer relative to estimates and y/y levels, though shares held up with modest gains. Q2 Op profit of KRW6.9T compares to KRW7.2T y/y and below KRW7.2Te. Analysts noted the figures suggest sales of Galaxy S6 smartphones vastly underperformed expectations.
- Down under, traders await RBA decision which is widely expected to hold rates for the 2nd straight meeting. AiG construction index came in contraction for the 3rd straight month due to weakness engineering activity "outweighing expansion in housing". New Zealand's NZIER Q2 business survey hit a 3-year low, sending NZD/USD toward 5-year lows near $0.6670. Trading in other USD majors was more subdued - AUD/USD was down about 25pips below $0.7470, EUR/USD down 30pips below $1.1030, and USD/JPY little changed above 122.50.
Equities
US equities/ADRs:
- AAP: Added to S&P500 index, replacing Family Dollar after close on July 8th; +2.3% afterhours
- SHLM: Reports Q3 $0.72 v $0.76e, R$561M v $578Me; -8.7% afterhours
- AMD: Cuts Q2 Rev guidance to fall -8% q/q (implies $948M v $999Me) v prior guidance of -6% to 0%; -13.8% afterhours
- TSYS: Forms Special Committee to Explore Strategic Alternatives
Notable movers by sector:
- Consumer discretionary: Beiqi Foton Motor Co 600166.CN -8.6% (June result)
- Financials: CITIC Securities 600030.CN -3.8%, GF Securities 000776.CN -5.9%, Haitong Securities 601688.CN -7.8% (21 brokerages sent investment fund; To increase proprietary investment); China Vanke Co 000002.CN -2.5% (proposes bond sales); Agricultural Bank of China 601288.CN +4.7% (fund invested in blue chips)
- Industrials: Qinhuangdao Port 3369.HK +2.5% (plans A-share offering)
- Materials: BHP Billiton BHP.AU -0.1%, Rio Tinto RIO.AU +1.1% (iron ore price decline); Panoramic Resources PAN.AU -2.2% (quarterly result); Saracen Mineral Holdings SAR.AU +0.6?(Q4 result)
- Technology: Truly International Holdings 732.HK +3.0% (June result); Samsung Electronics 005930.KR +1.8% (Q2 prelim result); MediaTek Inc 2454.TW -0.2% (June result); iProperty Group IPP.AU +0.8% (Q1 result)
- Energy: China Petroleum & and Chemical Corp 600028.CN +4.1%, PetroChina Co 601857.CN +6.9% (fund invested in blue chips); Oil Search Ltd OSH.AU +2.1%(preferred pick by Macquarie )
All information provided by Trade The News (a product of Trade The News, Inc. "referred to as TTN hereafter") is for informational purposes only. Information provided is not meant as investment advice nor is it a recommendation to Buy or Sell securities. Although information is taken from sources deemed reliable, no guarantees or assurances can be made to the accuracy of any information provided. 1. Information can be inaccurate and/or incomplete 2. Information can be mistakenly re-released or be delayed, 3. Information may be incorrect, misread, misinterpreted or misunderstood 4. Human error is a business risk you are willing to assume 5. Technology can crash or be interrupted without notice 6. Trading decisions are the responsibility of traders, not those providing additional information. Trade The News is not liable (financial and/or non-financial) for any losses that may arise from any information provided by TTN. Trading securities involves a high degree of risk, and financial losses can and do occur on a regular basis and are part of the risk of trading and investing.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD stabilizes near 1.0800 as trading action turns subdued
EUR/USD holds steady near 1.0800 on Thursday and remains on track to end the day in negative territory following upbeat macroeconomic data releases from the US. The action in financial markets turn subdued as trading volumes thin out heading into Easter holiday.
GBP/USD extends sideways grind above 1.2600
GBP/USD fluctuates in a narrow channel above 1.2600 on Thursday. The better-than-expected Initial Jobless Claims data from the US and the upward revision to the Q4 GDP growth help the USD stay resilient against its rivals and limits the pair's upside.
Gold pulls away from daily highs, holds above $2,200
Gold retreats from daily highs but holds comfortably above $2,200 in the American session on Thursday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield stays near 4.2% after upbeat US data and makes it difficult for XAU/USD to gather further bullish momentum.
XRP price falls to $0.60 support as Ripple ruling doesn’t help Coinbase lawsuit against SEC
XRP programmatic sales ruling by Judge Torres was completely rejected by another US Court that ruled in favor of the SEC in a lawsuit against Coinbase.
Portfolio rebalancing and reflation trades emerge into Q2
Yesterday’s price action pointed at a possible end-of-quarter portfolio rebalancing as the session saw the laggards of the quarter like Apple and Tesla gain, and the stars like Microsoft and Nvidia retreat.