China Industrial profits slow further

Asian Mid-session Update: China Industrial profits slow further; Japan headline CPI falls to 2-year lows

Economic Data

- (CN) CHINA JULY INDUSTRIAL PROFITS Y/Y: -2.9% V -0.3% PRIOR; YTD: -1.0% V -0.7% PRIOR

- (JP) JAPAN AUG TOKYO CPI Y/Y: 0.1% (2-year low) V 0.1%E; CPI EX FRESH FOOD Y/Y: -0.1% V -0.2%E; CPI Ex Food, Energy Y/Y: 0.4% (5-month high) v 0.3%e

- (JP) JAPAN JULY NATIONAL CPI Y/Y: 0.2% (2-year low) V 0.2%E; CPI EX FRESH FOOD Y/Y: 0.0% (2-year low) V -0.2%E

- (JP) JAPAN JULY JOBLESS RATE: 3.3% V 3.4%E; Job-To-Applicant Ratio: 1.21 (highest since Feb 1992) v 1.19e

- (JP) JAPAN JULY RETAIL SALES M/M: 1.2% V 0.6%%E; RETAIL TRADE Y/Y: 1.6% V 1.1%E (4th straight rise)

- (JP) JAPAN JULY OVERALL HOUSEHOLD SPENDING Y/Y: -0.2% V +0.5%E; 2nd straight decline

Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)

- Nikkei225 +2.8%, S&P/ASX +0.6%, Kospi +1.5%, Shanghai Composite +2.6%, Hang Seng +0.9%, Sept S&P500 -0.5% at 1,979

Commodities/Fixed Income

- Dec gold +0.6% at $1,129/oz, Oct crude oil +0.8% at $42.92/brl, Dec copper flat at $2.33/lb

- USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.3986 v 6.4085 prior setting; Largest increase in Yuan fix since March

- (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥400B in 5-10yr JGBs, ¥800B in T-bills, and ¥140B in floating rate JGBs

- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$800M in 2.75% 2019 Bonds; avg yield: 1.93%; bid-to-cover: 3.96x

- (NZ) RBNZ bought net NZ$191M in July v NZ$8M in June; 4-year high

Market Focal Points/FX

- The biggest 2-day rally in US stocks has also boosted sentiment in the Far East, with more decent gains across the local markets. Shanghai Composite is leading the charge with a 2% rise after yesterday's impressive close of over 5% despite speculation that the govt was behind the late-session push. US equity futures are more subdued, falling about 10pts below 1,980.

- China's top financials posted results overnight and the sentiment here is also mixed. BoCom is up slightly, while ICBC and AgBank are both down. A financial press report summed up the results, noting that non-performing loans rose for all three, and the bad debt write-offs are accelerating. China Industrial Profits figures were also troubling with a faster decline in both Y/Y and YTD measures. In FX, China finally fixed Yuan firmer, as the midpoint saw the biggest upside jump in 5 months.

- A large set of economic data from Japan has given little reason to doubt overnight comments by BOJ Gov Kuroda that the central bank is far from contemplating more easing. Unemployment rate slipped a decimal on strong labor demand, with job-to-applicant rate at its highest since 1992. Household spending slowed for the 2nd straight month but only by a marginal -0.2% vs -2.0% in the prior month. Even more importantly, CPI figures slowed to 2-year lows on the headline basis, but national Core CPI avoided a contraction anticipated by analysts. Fin Min Aso remarked that consumer spending and CPI would remain in an upward trend, and that the govt is not planning extra spending measures.

- Volatility in FX majors was somewhat contained. EUR/USD and USD/JPY pairs traded in 40pip ranges above $1.1230 and ¥120.90 respectively. NZD/USD rose over 40pips and hit session highs above $0.65 after S&P affirmed New Zealand AA+ sovereign rating with a Stable outlook. Also of note in New Zealand, July net RBNZ purchases of NZD were at a 4-year of high NZ$191M, though the central bank said this was merely routine portfolio rebalancing. Likewise, AUD/USD rose over 40pips above $0.72 before the full retreat in the afternoon hours. Australia retailers Woolworths and Harvey Norman saw slight gains after posting their FY15 results.

Equities

US equities/ADRs:

Notable afterhours (17:00):

- FCX: Icahn discloses 8.46% stake; may seek board representation - 13D filing; +17.1% afterhours

- NVTA: Biotech investor Baker Brothers discloses 20.6% stake - 13D filing; +14.4% afterhours

- ATVI: ATVI and UAL to enter S&P500 index; +6.7% afterhours

- SWHC: Reports Q1 $0.26 v $0.22e, R$147.8M v $144Me; +6.2% afterhours

- SPLK: Reports Q2 $0.03 v $0.02e, R$148.3M v $140Me; +5.7% afterhours

- ULTA: Reports Q2 $1.15 v $1.11e, R$877M v $870Me; +3.6% afterhours

- ARO: Reports Q2 -$0.55 (excl items) v -$0.56e, R$327M v $326Me; -2.0% afterhours

- ADSK: Reports Q2 $0.19 v $0.17e, R$609.5M v $613Me; -6.0% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:

- Consumer discretionary: Kweichow Moutai Co 600519.CN -3.6% (H1 result); Air China 753.HK -2.5% (H1 result); SAIC Motor Corp 600104.CN -0.1% (H1 result); Woolworths WOW.AU +1.8% (FY15 result); Harvey Norman HVN.AU +0.3% (FY15 result)

- Consumer staples: Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co 000869.CN +6.4% (H1 result)

- Financials: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) 601398.CN -1.2% (H1 result); Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) 601288.CN -0.7% (H1 result); Bank of Communications 601328.CN +1.2% (H1 result); Bank of Ningbo Co 002142.CN +1.4% (H1 result); Legend Holdings Corporation 3396.HK +1.5% (H1 result); Cinda Asset Management 1359.HK +5.6% (H1 result)

- Industrials: China Shipbuilding Industry Company 601989.CN +8.6% (H1 result); BBMG Corp 2009.HK +2.6% (H1 result); Shanghai Mechanical and Electrical Industry 600835.CN +5.2% (H1 result); Mazda Motor Corp 7261.JP +4.7% (July Japan production)

- Technology: Sharp Corp 6753.JP +6.0% (speculation to sell LCD unit)

- Materials: Aluminum Corporation of China 601600.CN +3.8% (H1 result)

- Energy: PetroChina Co 601857.CN +1.5% (H1 result); China Oilfield Services 2883.HK +5.7% (H1 result); Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical 600688.CN +9.9% (H1 result)

- Healthcare: Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co 600518.CN +1.3% (H1 result)

- Utilities: Beijing Enterprises Water Group 371.HK +6.7% (H1 result); Shenergy Co 600642.CN +3.3% (H1 result)