China HSBC final PMI falls to 1-yr low after markets resume from holiday

Economic Data

*(CN) CHINA APR FINAL HSBC MANUFACTURING PMI: 48.9 V 49.4E (biggest contraction in a year)

*(AU) AUSTRALIA MAR BUILDING APPROVALS M/M: +2.8% V -1.5%E; Y/Y: 23.6% V 16.7%E

*(AU) AUSTRALIA APR ANZ JOB ADS M/M: +2.3% V -1.3% PRIOR

*(NZ) NEW ZEALAND APR ANZ COMMODITY PRICE M/M: -7.4% V +4.6% PRIOR

*(AU) AUSTRALIA APR TD SECURITIES INFLATION M/M: 0.3% V 0.4% PRIOR; Y/Y: 1.4% V 1.5% PRIOR

*(KR) SOUTH KOREA APR HSBC MANUFACTURING PMI: 48.8 V 49.2 PRIOR (2nd consecutive contraction)

*(KR) SOUTH KOREA MAR CURRENT ACCOUNT: $10.4B V $6.4B PRIOR

(ID) Indonesia Apr HSBC Manufacturing PMI: 46.7 V 46.4 prior (7th straight month of contraction)

(TW) Taiwan Apr HSBC Manufacturing PMI: 49.2 v 51.0 prior

(VN) Vietnam Apr HSBC Manufacturing PMI: 53.5 v 50.7 prior

*(ID) INDONESIA APR CPI M/M: 0.4% V 0.4%E; Y/Y: 6.8% V 6.8%E; CPI CORE Y/Y: 5.0% V 5.0%E

Index Snapshot (as of 02:30 GMT)

- Nikkei225 closed, S&P/ASX -0.2%, Kospi +0.3%, Shanghai Composite flat, Hang Seng flat, Jun S&P500 -0.1% at 2,099

Commodities/Fixed Income

- Jun gold +0.6% at $1,182/oz, Jun crude oil -0.6% at $58.81/brl, May copper -1.0% at $2.90/lb

- (TW) Taiwan sells 12-month Bills; Yield: 0.557% v 0.571% prior, bid-to-cover: 2.55x

Market Focal Points/FX

- China April final HSBC manufacturing PMI posted 48.9, missing consensus of 49.4, as largest contraction for one year with total new orders declining at the strongest pace for a year while production levels stagnated. The weak results bolstered chances that PBoC to further ease monetary policy. AUD/USD drops over 30 bps to 0.7800 after the data. Separately, Chinese press printed opinion piece suggesting the window for both interest rates and RRR cuts is approaching but anther QE is unnecessary to deal with downturn pressure now.

- Most Asian markets resume after holidays. Shanghai composite deepened decline by 1.1% after HSBC data but changed into positive territory afterwards. China developers rally with improving results in April. For the first time over a decade, IMF is close to declare Yuan is fairly priced, shifting to counter the Obama administration view that Yuan is "significantly undervalued". South Korea President comments economy shows positive signs of recovery while New Zealand Prime Minister Key sees it will take longer time to return to budget surplus.

Equities

US equities/ADRs:

- ALGT: Allegiant Air successfully receives a court order blocking the Teamsters from striking and safeguarding Allegiant's passengers from travel disruptions

- FB: David Goldberg, CEO of SurveyMonkey and husband of Facebook COO Sandberg, died suddenly last night of undetermined causes

- EIX: Teams Up with Tesla for Battery Storage Projects

- TWTR: In talks to acquire mobile news app Circa, unclear at what valuation - press

- CRM: SAP denies press report about talks with CRM; says never considered acquiring Salesforce.com - press

- ON: Reports Q1 $0.20 v $0.18e, R$870.8M v $861Me

Notable movers by sector:

- Consumer discretionary: Stockland SGP.AU +0.8% (Q3 results)

- Financials: Westpac Banking WBC.AU -3.7% (H1 results); Evergrande Real Estate Group 3333.HK +8.0% (China developer in housing market recovery); Fosun International 656.HK +7.0% (Q1 result, to acquire IronShore)

- Industrials: McAleese MCS.AU -45.6% (cuts guidance); Worley Parsons WOR.AU -9.8% (cuts guidance)