Shanghai Composite makes fresh 7-year highs on CSRC vote of confidence

Economic Data

- (SG) SINGAPORE MAR ELECTRONIC EXPORTS Y/Y: 10.4% V 2.0%E; NON-OIL DOMESTIC EXPORTS M/M: 23.0% V 3.5%E; Y/Y: +18.5% V -1.1%E

- (CL) CHILE CENTRAL BANK (BCCH) LEAVES OVERNIGHT RATE TARGET UNCHANGED AT 3.00%, AS EXPECTED

- NPD: Mar US total video game sales $963.7M, -6% y/y

Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)

- Nikkei225 -0.5%, S&P/ASX -0.9%, Kospi +0.1%, Shanghai Composite +1.3%, Hang Seng +0.2%, Jun S&P500 -0.1% at 2,099

Commodities/Fixed Income

- Jun gold flat at $1,197/oz, May crude oil -1.2% at $56.04/brl, May copper +0.1% at $2.78/lb

- (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥400B in 5-10yr JGBs, ¥240B in 10-25yr JGBs amd ¥140B in JGBs with maturity over 25-yr as well as ¥2.75T in T-bills

- (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$700M in 2.75% 2019 Bonds; avg yield: 1.8806%; bid-to-cover: 5.78x

- (CN) China MoF sells 3-yr bonds at 3.21% yield

- USD/CNY: PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1267 v 6.1305 prior setting (strongest Yuan setting since Feb 6th)

- (US) Weekly Fed Balance Sheet Total Assets for week ending Apr 15th: $4.49T v $4.48T prior; M1 y/y change: 9.3% v 9.2% w/w; M2 y/y change: 6.2% (6-month high) v 6.1% w/w

Market Focal Points/FX

- Shanghai Composite was up over 2% in the morning session and headed for its 6th straight week of gains, rising to fresh 7-year highs just below 4,300. Economic calendar was sparse in both the Asia and US hours, with the focus turning to Friday's US CPI figures. In the mean time, investors on the mainland were enthused by more positive rhetoric from policymakers. China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) Chairman Xiao noted the current bull market would last longer than the last upswing just before the GFC, though he did urge "rational" investing. Separately, the State Council promised to continue to promote steady trade growth, streamlining infrastructure construction at China's ports. Lastly, NDRC said new measures to stabilize growth and support employment, which has been slacking in recent datapoints, were in the pipeline. On the down note, S&P warned more China property developers, particularly in smaller cities, could default this year.

- Down under, Australia's 2nd largest energy producer Santos reported Q1 output growth of 15% and affirmed FY15 production and capex guidance in spite of the lower oil prices. Australia's top coal miner Whitehaven also reported y/y growth in coal sales of 3.7MT. Both STO and WHC moved slightly higher on those results despite a moderate decline in the broader index.

- Late in the US trading session, a report from Fed watcher Hilsenrath pointed to a spate of softer economic data creating some uncertainty among the FOMC members about the timing of the liftoff in rates. The report noted the general increase in economic data shortfalls have reduced expectations of a June liftoff significanly and Sept hike probability has also moved lower. Hilsenrath added that most Fed officials see Q1 slowdown as temporary, but would likely prefer more time to ensure a sustainable rebound is taking place.

Equities

US equities/ADRs:

- CE: Reports Q1 $1.72 v $1.32e, R$1.45B v $1.65Be; +15.6% afterhours

- MAT: Reports Q1 -$0.08 (adj) v -$0.09e, R$923M v $898Me; +6.5% afterhours

- SLB: Reports Q1 $1.06 v $0.97e, R$10.2B v $10.7Be; Lowers CAPEX guidance 17% to $2.5B; To cut 2K jobs (about 1.7% of workforce); +2.4% afterhours

- AXP: Reports Q1 $1.48 v $1.37e, R$7.95B v $8.21Be; -1.6% afterhours

- MTW: Guides FY15 foodservice segment revenues down to be approximately flat y/y (prior FY15 foodservice rev mid single-digit percentage growth); -4.6% afterhours

- NOW: Reports Q1 +$0.02 v -$0.00e, R$212M v $211Me; -8.6% afterhours

- AMD: Reports Q1 -$0.09 v -$0.06e, R$1.03B v $1.08Be; -11.2% afterhours

Notable movers by sector:

- Consumer Discretionary: Air China 601111.CN +3.1% (Q1 guidance)

- Financials: Bank of East Asia 23.HK +3.0% (cooperation with Tencent's WeBank)

- Materials: Base Resources BSE.AU +4.4% (Q4 production results); Whitehaven Coal WHC.AU +1.8% (Q3 op results)

- Energy: Santos Ltd STO.AU +0.9% (Q1 production results); JX Holdings 5020.JP +2.2% (speculation on FY15/16 results); Anton Oilfield Services 3337.HK -5.6% (Q1 new orders)

- Industrials: China Communications Construction 601800.CN +5.3%, China State Construction Engineering 601668.CN +6.9% (China to unveil infrastructure investment plan in Pakistan)

- Technology: Sharp Corp 6753.JP -4.3% (said to scale back LCD TV, solar business, cut staff)