China Fin Min sees limited policy response to slowdown

Asian Market Update: Equities, commodities slide as China Fin Min sees limited policy response to slowdown

Economic Data

- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q3 WESTPAC CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: 116.7 (1-year low; 2nd consecutive decline) V 121.2 PRIOR

- (TW) TAIWAN AUG UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 3.9% V 3.9%E

Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)

- Nikkei225 -0.8%, S&P/ASX -0.9%, Kospi -1.0%, Shanghai Composite -0.9%, Hang Seng -1.2%, Dec S&P500 -0.5% at 1,993

Commodities/Fixed Income/Currencies

- Dec gold -0.3% at $1,213, Oct crude oil -0.3% at $92.17/brl, Dec copper -1.5% at $3.04/lb

- GLD: Spot gold falls below $1,210; 9-month lows

- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 7.8 tonnes to 776.4 tonnes; Largest decline since April and lowest level since Dec 2008

- SLV: Spot silver extending decline below $17.60/oz; fresh 4-year low

- (KR) South Korea sells KRW750B in 20-yr govt bond, avg yield 3.150%

Market Focal Points/Key Themes

- Major indices in Asia are down by about 1%, S&P500 futures are down 11 handles, and metals are slumping to multi-month lows despite the stronger USD. Risk aversion is largely attributed to weekend comments from China Fin Min Lou indicating Beijing will not amend economic policies despite the August economic indicators, instead focusing on job creation and stable inflation. Lou further noted infrastructure investment - a consistent product of fiscal stimulus - cannot rely primarily on govt spending. Separately, Premier Li was said to have held talks with PBoC Gov Zhou, stating it was a challenge to push interest rates lower, but they would seek to achieve that with financial reforms. Note that the first look at economic performance for China in September will come with tomorrow's release of HSBC flash manufacturing PMI.

- Weekend G20 summit yielded little of note. Fin Mins' Communique pledged to proceed with measures that aim to raise collective GDP by an additional 1.8% through 2018. Fin Mins also promised to "identify a series of additional measures to meet our collective growth ambition." More interesting commentary was from the skeptical ECB member and the head of German Bundesbank Weidmann, who once again expressed reluctance toward the latest central bank measures. In particular, Weidmann noted the ECB policy response has gone beyond encouraging banks to make loans and amounted to pumping money directly into the real economy.

- Japan Econ Min Amari gave the most affirmative expectation of proceeding with 2nd round of consumption tax increase from the Abe cabinet to date. Amari said the increase is needed to meet rising costs for social security and budget deficit needs. Separately, former BOJ Dep Gov Iwata said the recent JPY weakness may be overdone, adding that USD/JPY at ¥90-100 reflects fundamentals of Japan more accurately. USD/JPY reversed its opening gains to ¥109.15, falling as low as ¥108.65 in the afternoon session.

- New Zealand PM Key and the ruling National Party secured a 3rd term in govt with a 48% showing in national elections. Subsequent reports indicated the result gives NP 61 out of 121 Parliament seats and allows it to govern alone, though PM Key plans to work on maintaining coalition with ACT New Zealand, United Future and the Maori Party. NZD/USD opened up 25pips and added another 20 to trade as high as $0.8165 on the strong ruling party showing. PM Key also pledged to maintain his economic agenda, promising not to "take the party veering off to the right or do radical things."

- Russian Fin Min Siluanov warned Moscow would consider diversifying its debt portfolio away from countries that sanctioned Russia and in favor of BRIC partners. Meanwhile, ceasefire in east Ukraine saw little progress, with both sides accusing the other of not abiding by Minsk agreement. Ukraine Defense Council spokesperson added that Kiev will not pull back troops until all sides cease fire, while Ukraine Pres said "we must be ready to protect our country if the peace plan does not work."

Equities

US markets:

- FOE: Enters into Agreement to Acquire Italian Tile Coatings Manufacturer Vetriceramici for €83M; Transaction $0.12-0.14 accretive in 2015

- MSFT: Delays Xbox One China launch to "by the end of year" from originally on Sept 23rd - financial press

- DRC: Confirms plan to be acquired by Siemens for approx $7.6B in an all cash deal

- EMC: Said to have held merger talks with Hewlett-Packard; Talks have since ended on disagreement, including financial terms - financial press

Notable movers by sector:

- Financials: Agile Property 3383.HK -7.4% (raises capital)

- Materials: Mitsubishi Materials 5711.JP +2.6% (press speculation on acquisition); Fortescue FMG.AU -4.3%, Atlas Iron Ltd AGO.AU -3.2%, Rio Tinto RIO.AU -2.3% (commodities lower); Arrium Ltd ARI.AU +5.9% (raises capital at A$0.48/shr)

- Energy: Cosmo Oil 5007.JP -0.7% (Moody's cuts ratings)

- Technology: Square Enix Holdings 9684.JP +5.4% (app sales result)

- Utilities: Huaneng Power International 902.HK -1.0% (China Shenhua plans to sell stake)

- Telecom: Softbank 9984.JP -4.4% (sell off following Alibaba debut)