USD/JPY falls to fresh 18-month lows

Asian Market Update: USD/JPY falls to fresh 18-month lows; Nikkei225 closed, futures down over 8% after BOJ shock

 

Economic Data

- (AU) AUSTRALIA MAR PRIVATE SECTOR CREDIT M/M: 0.4% (4-month low) V 0.5%E; Y/Y: 6.4% V 6.6%E

- (AU) AUSTRALIA Q1 PPI Q/Q: -0.2% (4-year low) V +0.3% PRIOR; Y/Y: 1.2% V 1.9% PRIOR

- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND APR ANZ ACTIVITY OUTLOOK: 32.1 V 29.4 PRIOR; BUSINESS CONFIDENCE: 6.2 V 3.2 PRIOR

- (NZ) New Zealand Mar M3 Money Supply Y/Y: 7.8% v 7.3% prior

- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND MAR BUILDING PERMITS M/M: -9.8% V +10.3% PRIOR

- (KR) SOUTH KOREA MAR INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: -2.2% V -0.5%E; Y/Y: -1.5% V +0.3%E

- (KR) SOUTH KOREA MAY BUSINESS MANUFACTURING SURVEY: 73 v 70 PRIOR; NON-MANUFACTURING SURVEY: 75 v 71 PRIOR

- (TW) TAIWAN Q1 PRELIMINARY GDP Y/Y: -0.8% V -0.7%E (3rd straight quarter of contraction; Taiwan remains in recession)

- (UK) MAR GFK CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: -3 V -1E

Index Snapshot (as of 04:00 GMT)

- Nikkei225 closed, S&P/ASX +0.3%, Kospi -0.6%, Shanghai Composite -0.3%, Hang Seng -1.4%, Jun S&P500 flat at 2,072

 

Commodities/Fixed Income

- June gold +0.9% at $1,278/oz, June crude oil -0.1% at $45.98/brl, Jul copper +1.0% at $2.25/lb

- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings rise 1.4 tonnes to 804.1 tonnes

- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$1.0B in 5.75% 2021 Bonds; avg yield: 2.0575%; bid-to-cover: 3.75x

- (CN) PBOC to inject CNY30B in 7-day reverse repos; Drains net CNY290B this week v injected CNY680B prior

- USD/CNY: *(CN) PBOC SETS YUAN MID POINT AT 6.4589 V 6.4954 PRIOR; strongest Yuan fix since Apr 1st; biggest margin of increase since July 2005

- (NZ) New Zealand sells NZ$150M in Apr 2023 bonds; Bids NZ$612M

 

Market Focal Points/FX

- Sentiment around Japan remains cautious in the wake of surprise BOJ hold, with USD/JPY taking out stops on the downside en route to 18-month lows below 107.20. Nikkei225 futures now down over 8% from levels just before the BOJ announcement.

- PBoC strengthened Yuan fix by the biggest margin since 2005 to match Yen strength vs USD, in part to shield the economy from further outflows; Earlier, SAFE deputy director Fang Shangpu said China will strengthen reviews on authenticity, legitimacy and compliance of outbound investment; Also in China, S&P concluded that China securities firms can endure market volatility.

- Australia private sector growth slows and PPI hits a 4-year low on sequential basis as focus turns to RBA decision next week; Nearly half of analysts expect renewed RBA easing.

- Bank of Korea quarterly report to Parliament promises to keep monetary policy accommodative due to gradual growth and tepid outlook for exports.

 

Equities

US equities/ADRs:

- AMZN: Reports Q1 $1.07 v $0.61e, R$29.1B v $27.9Be; +12.6% afterhours

- EXPE: Reports Q1 +$0.09 v -$0.07e, R$1.90B v $1.82Be; +10.8% afterhours

- OUTR: Reports Q1 $2.44 (adj) v $1.32e (unclear if comp), R$536M v $511Me; +8.5% afterhours

- LNKD: Reports Q1 $0.74 v $0.60e, R$861M v $828Me; +8.2% afterhours

- BIDU: Reports Q1 $1.06 adj v $0.78e, R$2.45B v $2.29Be (2 est); +4.3% afterhours

- JNPR: Reports Q1 $0.37 v $0.39e, R$1.10B v $1.13Be; +2.6% afterhours

- PFG: Reports Q1 $0.97 v $0.99e, R$2.94B v $2.73Be; +0.9% afterhours

- AMGN: Reports Q1 $2.90 v $2.56e, R$5.53B v $5.36Be; +0.3% afterhours

- WDC: Reports Q3 $1.21 v $1.25e, R$2.82B v $2.86Be; -3.8% afterhours

- GILD: Reports Q1 $3.03 v $3.12e, R$7.68B v $8.13Be; -5.5% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:

- Consumer discretionary: Haier Electronics Group 1169.HK +2.7% (Q1 result); China Eastern Airlines 600115.CN -0.8% (Q1 result)

- Financials: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) 1398.HK

-1.4% (Q1 result); Bank of Communications 3328.HK -2.0% (Q1 result); China Merchants Bank Co 600036.CN -0.7% (Q1 result); China Life Insurance 2628.HK

-1.4% (Q1 result); Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) 1288.HK -0.4% (Q1 result)

- Industrials: Air China 753.HK -4.4% (Q1 result); Toyota Tsusho Corp 8015.JP

-7.8% (FY15/16 result); BYD Company Limited 1211.HK +2.3% (Q1 result); Zhong Wang Group 1333.HK -2.0% (Q1 result); ANA Holdings 9202.JP -1.1% (FY15/16 result)

- Technology: ZTE Corp 763.HK -0.5% (Q1 result)

- Materials: Doray Minerals DRM.AU +4.2% (Q1 result); Aluminum Corporation of China 2600.HK -1.5% (Q1 result)

- Energy: PetroChina Co 857.HK -3.6% (Q1 result); Sinopec (China Petroleum & and Chemical Corp) 386.HK -2.3% (Q1 result); Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal Co 3948.HK -0.5% (Q1 result); Yanzhou Coal Mining Co.1171.HK +0.7% (Q1 result)

- Telecom: KT Corp 030200.KR -0.2% (Q1 result)