Equity markets trade mixed, USD/JPY rises amid US data and focus on the BOJ Gov position
|General trend
- Chinese markets again lag [geopolitics in focus?].
- Japanese equities outperform [Yen declines].
- Banks decline in Japan after report on BOJ Gov position.
- US equity FUTS remain lower.
- Monday M&A theme in focus.
- Japanese cos. due to report earnings include Astellas, Sumitomo Corp, Orix, JFE, Yamato.
- RBA rate decision is due on Tues [Feb 7th]; Aussie bond yields rise, REITs decline.
- How ‘dovish’ is Amamiya?
Headlines/economic data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opens flat at 7,556.
- (AU) Australia Q4 Retail Sales (ex-inflation) Q/Q: -0.2% v -0.5%e.
-*(AU) Australia Jan melbourne institute inflation M/M: 0.9% V 0.2% prior; Y/Y: 6.4% V 5.9% prior [multi-year high].
- Newcrest Mining [NCM.AU]: Confirms received a conditional and non-binding indicative all-stock proposal from Newmont Corporation (Newmont) to acquire 100% of the issued shares of Newcrest.
- (AU) Australia Trade Min: To travel to Beijing (China) to meet counterpart in the near future; discussion covered a range of trade and investment issues [follows virtual meeting with China official].
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opens -1.4% at 21,349.
- Shanghai Composite opens -0.6% at 3,244.
- (CN) Follow Up: China Vice Foreign Minister: China civilian unmanned airship entered the US airspace by 'accident'.
- (CN) US Defense Dept: Chinese spy balloon was shot down six nautical miles off of the US coast by an F-22.
- (US) Sec of State Blinken confirms postponing trip to China; Spy balloon is a violation of US sovereignty [from Feb 3rd].
- (US) US said to be considering new sanctions on Chinese surveillance companies, including Tiandy Technologies Co. and Zhejiang Uniview Technologies Co. over sales to Iran's security forces - US financial press.
- (CN) China Cabinet: China's economic operations are recovering; Will consolidate and expand economic recovery momentum.
- (CN) Reportedly China considering ending limit on municipal land sales to raise tax revenue - press.
- (CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Sells CNY150B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY23B prior; Net drain CNY373B.
- (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.7737 v 6.7382 prior.
Japan
- *(JP) Japan deputy chief cabinet sec: Refutes Nikkei report.
- (JP) Japan Fin Min Suzuki: Have not heard anything about nomination of Amamiya as BOJ Gov, have been 'out of the loop' on BOJ nomination [comments on press report].
- Nikkei reported Japan government has sounded out Amamiya for the BOJ Gov role [from Feb 5th].
- (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Gov Kuroda: Reiterates BOJ will seek to achieve 2% inflation in stable and sustainable manner, while keeping an eye on side-effects.
Korea
- Kospi opens -0.8%.
- (KR) South Korea Finance Ministry sells 30-year bonds:Avg Yield: 3.285% v 3.675% prior.
North America
-*(US) Jan change in Nonfarm Payrolls: +517K V +188KE (above any analysts' estimate and highest job creation since July 2022).
-*(US) Jan average hourly earnings M/M: 0.3% V 0.3%E; Y/Y: 4.4% V 4.3%E.
-*(US) Jan unemployment rate: 3.4% V 3.6%E (lowest since Feb 2020).
- *(US) Jan ISM services index: 55.2 V 50.5E (largest monthly increase since June 2020 and above all analysts' estimates).
- (US) Fed's Daly (non-voter): Today's jobs number was a "wow" number but trend not surprising; Still see Dec SEP projections as a good guide post of where rates need to go - Fox Business [from Feb 3rd].
- Life Storage [LSI]: Public Storage Proposes to Acquire Life Storage in All-Stock Transaction.
- Apple [AAPL]: Reportedly internally discussed adding a higher-end 'Ultra' iPhone to its smartphone lineup, potentially in 2024 - press.
Europe
-Telecom Italia: Reportedly thousands of customers across Italy complained of internet outages; Telecom Italian cites international interconnection problem – press.
- (TR) Magnitude 7.7 earthquake strikes central Turkey; cites GFZ.
Levels as of 00:20 ET
- Nikkei 225, +0.6%, ASX 200 -0.3% , Hang Seng -2.5%; Shanghai Composite -1% ; Kospi -1.2%.
- Equity S&P500 Futures: -0.5%; Nasdaq100 -0.6%, Dax -0.1%; FTSE100 -0.3%.
- EUR 1.0798-1.0781; JPY 132.48-131.18 ; AUD 0.6947-0.6894 ;NZD 0.6334-0.6306.
- Gold +0.8% at $1,889/oz; Crude Oil +0.2% at $73.52/brl; Copper +0.7% at $4.0600/lb.
Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers.