Another mixed equity session in Asia after directionless close on Wall Street

General trend

- Asian markets have remained mixed.

- Nikkei is still lower after the negative open [Topix Air Transportation, Banks, Pharma and Securities indices are among the decliners; Automakers also trade generally lower amid continued reports related to chip shortages; Marine Transportation index outperforms; Fast Retailing and Seven & I are due to report earnings].

- Australian equities again outperform [Financials outperform amid rise in 10-yr UST yield; Resources index also gains (Western Areas rose after production update)].

- Hang Seng rises after the lower open [TECH index rebounded (Tencent pared drop amid stake sale)].

- Shanghai Composite rebounded from opening loss [Consumer Staples index reversed decline; Telecom and Property indices underperformed].

- Companies expected to report during the NY morning include ConAgra Brands, Constellation Brands.

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

- ASX 200 opened +0.2%.

- WBC.AU ASIC commences civil proceedings in relation to the sale of consumer credit insurance.

- (AU) Australia Trade Min Tehan: Will protect interests against any country (talking about China warning of joining sanctions on officials).

Japan

- Nikkei 225 opened -0.2%.

- (JP) Japan Chief Cabinet Sec Kato: Untrue that Japan is considering vaccinating Olympic Athletes.

- 5486.JP Hitachi Ltd. reportedly in talks with Bain about potential sale of its metals division - Nikkei.

- (JP) Japan Feb Current Account: ¥2.92T v ¥2.00Te; Adj Current Account: ¥1.79T v ¥1.02Te; Trade Balance (BoP): ¥524.2B v -¥130.1B prior.

- (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.5T v ¥2.5T indicated in 0.10% 5-year JGBs; avg yield -0.0910% v -0.062% prior, bid to cover 4.55x v 3.25x prior (highest btc since Oct 2020).

- 096530.KR Planning 1 for 1 issue of bonus shares.

Korea

- Kospi opened 0.0%.

- (KR) South Korea Fin Min: Anti-speculation measures will increase – Yonhap.

- (KR) South Korea ruling Democratic party was defeated in special mayoral elections in Seoul and Busan - financial press.

China/Hong Kong

- Hang Seng opened -0.3%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.4%.

- (CN) China PBOC warns that a boom in household debt could hinder the economy - Chinese press.

- (HK) Hong Kong Mar PMI (Whole Economy): 50.5 v 50.2 prior (3-year high).

- (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.5463 v 6.5384 prior.

- (CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY10B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net CNY0B v CNY0B prior.

- (CN) China Mar Vehicle Sales 2.38M units, +66.8% y/y - CAAM.

- (CN) CHINA MAR FOREIGN RESERVES: $3.170T V $3.178TE (3rd straight monthly decline and lowest since Oct).

North America

- JNJ Mass vaccination site in Denver, Colorado using JNJ Coronavirus vaccines was shut down temporarily due to 18 recipients having unspecified adverse side affects – Press.

- (US) US govt completes intelligence review of alleged Russian misconduct in SolarWinds hack and election interference; may announce retaliatory actions against Russia in the near future – press.

- AMZN Union Vote in Alabama has ~55% voter turnout, final count expected later April 8th or early the 9th - Press.

Europe

- (DK) Greenland Elections Results: Opposition Socials Party IA posed to win election (opposes mining project lead by GGG.AU).

- (DE) Germany vaccine authority, STIKO, and national health authority, RKI, looking at whether to further stretch the amount of time before second doses of Covid vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna - German press.

- (UK) Britain reportedly expected to pass COVID herd immunity threshold on Monday - UK's Telegraph.

- (UK) Mar RICS House Price Balance: 59 v 55e.

Levels as of 01:15ET

- Hang Seng +1.0%; Shanghai Composite +0.1%; Kospi -0.0%; Nikkei225 -0.3%; ASX 200 +0.9%.

- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.5%; Nasdaq100 +0.7%, Dax +0.1%; FTSE100 +0.3%.

- EUR 1.1875-1.1861; JPY 109.91-109.66; AUD 0.7634-0.7603; NZD 0.7029-0.7004.

- Commodity Futures: Gold -0.1% at $1,740/oz; Crude Oil -0.6% at $59.43/brl; Copper +0.4% at $4.08/lb.