General Trend:
- Real Estate companies and Securities brokers decline in Japan
- Sony rises over 6% on reports activist investor Third Point acquired stake
- Japan currency processing machinery companies gain, gov’t announced plans for new banknotes.
- Chinese automakers gain in Hong Kong after release of March sales; Geely +2%, Great Wall Motor +2%
- Chinese automakers support gains in Consumer Discretionary sector, property and telecom services indices also out perform
- Materials sector lags in China as Aluminum Corp of China, Baoshan Steel and Anhui Conch Cement decline
- Aussie iron ore miners trade generally higher, China iron ore prices hit record high
- Australia’s Crown Ltd rises over 20%, confirmed M&A talks with Wynn Resorts
- China 1-year swap rate rises as analysts debate policy outlook
- Japan Economy Min confirms US trade talks to start next week (April 15-18th)
- Analysts ponder whether economic slowdown will force Japan to again delay sales tax increase (financial press)
- Taiwan’s UMC and AU Optronics expected to report monthly sales today
- China Premier Li is expected to visit Europe from April 8-12th
- RBA Dep Gov Debelle is expected to speak on the state of the economy on Wed
Headlines/Economic Data
Australia/New Zealand
- ASX 200 opened flat
- (AU) AUSTRALIA FEB HOME LOANS M/M: 0.8% V +0.5%E (first rise since Oct 2018); Owner Occupier Loan Value m/m: 3.4% v 1.0%e; Investment Lending m/m: 0.9% v -1.0%e
- SMR.AU Reports Q3 saleable coal production 691kt v 302kt y/y; Raises FY19 production guidance to 2.3 MT (guided 2.15Mt prior); affirms FY19 Underlying EBITDA guidance of A$140-155M
- CWN.AU Confirms talks with Wynn Resorts, board has not considered most recent offer of A$14.75/shr in 50% cash and 50% shares
- (UK) UK's FCA signed two MOU's with Australian Securities and Investments Commission agree to strengthen cooperation post-Brexit
- (AU) Australia sells A$150M v A$150M indicated in 2.50% Sept 2030 indexed bonds, avg yield 0.33%, bid to cover: 5.3x
Japan
- Nikkei 225 opened slightly lower
- 7013.JP Internal investigation reveals 7,138 instances of inspection misconduct over 2-year period
- (JP) Japan Economy Min Motegi: Confirms first round of trade talks with US to begin next week; will first decided on which goods will be included
- SNE Reportedly Third Point (Loeb) has built an activist stake in Sony – press
- (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥1.9T v ¥1.9T indicated in 0.10% 5-yr JGB: avg yield: -0.164% v -0.144% prior, bid to cover: 5.31x v 5.15x prior
Korea
- Kospi opened +0.1%
- (KR) South Korea President Moon and US President Trump expected to produce a "meaningful" outcome on North Korea's denuclearization process when they hold talks in Washington later this week – Yonhap
- 000030.KR Acquired two local firms as part of efforts to boost non-banking sector and diversify its business portfolio - Yonhap
China/Hong Kong
- Hang Seng opened flat; Shanghai Composite opened -0.1%
- (CN) Spain Ambassador to China de Mazarredo: China needs to open its markets and level the playing field, needs to take more responsibility by reviewing trade (comments ahead of EU/China summit in Belgium)
- (CN) China PBoC expected to resume open market operations (OMO) soon, to inject liquidity - China press
- (CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips for 14th consecutive session: Net: CNY0 v CNY0 prior
- (CN) China PBoC sets yuan reference rate: 6.7142 v 6.7201 prior
- (CN) China City of Chongqing March new home sales 2.12M sq meters, +64.3% y/y – SCMP
- (CN) Political economy professor Minxin Pei: US/China trade war inactivity could lead to the ‘worst recession in recent Chinese history’ – SCMP
- (CN) China cuts tax to 13% from 15% on personal items bought overseas, as part of plan to boost consumption – SCMP
North America
- (IR) Iran puts US central command on terror list - press
Europe
- (US) US Trade Representative (USTR) proposes tariffs to counter EU aircraft subsidies, releases for public comment a prelim list of EU products to be covered by additional duties, USTR estimates the harm from the EU subsidies of $11B/year
- (UK) Parliament passes law that blocks no deal Brexit
- (UK) UK Govt Spokesperson: "We are committed to finding a way through. That will require the parties to work at pace in order to address outstanding issues and so ministers and their shadow counterparts will be holding talks tomorrow"; Ministers to resume Brexit talks with Labour party Tuesday
- (UK) Mar BRC Sales Like-For-Like Y/Y: -1.1% v -0.8%e (biggest drop since April 2018)
- (UK) UK Mar Barclaycard Consumer Spending Y/Y: 3.1% v 1.2% prior
- (UK) EU to set a high price for delaying Brexit including UK to give up rights in future EU budget and trade talks; will force UK into no deal Brexit if it seeks to cancel election to European parliament May 23rd
Levels as of 1:20 ET
- Nikkei 225, flat, ASX 200 0.1%, Hang Seng +0.3%; Shanghai Composite -0.2%; Kospi +0.3%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.1%%; Nasdaq100 -0.1%, Dax -0.2%; FTSE100 +0.1%%
- EUR 1.1270-1.1255 ; JPY 111,58-111.27 ; AUD 0.7131-0.7109 ;NZD 0.6751-0.6737
- Gold +0.1% at $1,303/oz; Crude Oil +0.2% at $64.53/brl; Copper +0.3% at $2.943/lb
All information provided by Trade The News (a product of Trade The News, Inc. "referred to as TTN hereafter") is for informational purposes only. Information provided is not meant as investment advice nor is it a recommendation to Buy or Sell securities. Although information is taken from sources deemed reliable, no guarantees or assurances can be made to the accuracy of any information provided. 1. Information can be inaccurate and/or incomplete 2. Information can be mistakenly re-released or be delayed, 3. Information may be incorrect, misread, misinterpreted or misunderstood 4. Human error is a business risk you are willing to assume 5. Technology can crash or be interrupted without notice 6. Trading decisions are the responsibility of traders, not those providing additional information. Trade The News is not liable (financial and/or non-financial) for any losses that may arise from any information provided by TTN. Trading securities involves a high degree of risk, and financial losses can and do occur on a regular basis and are part of the risk of trading and investing.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
USD/JPY holds positive ground around 151.50 following Japanese CPI data
The USD/JPY pair holds positive ground for the second consecutive day near 151.45 on Friday during the early Asian trading hours. The cautious approach from the Bank of Japan to keep monetary conditions accommodative exerts some selling pressure on the Japanese Yen.
AUD/USD holds above 0.6500 in thin trading
The Australian Dollar managed to recover ground against its American rival after AUD/USD fell to 0.6484. The upbeat tone of Wall Street underpinned the Aussie despite broad US Dollar strength and tepid Australian data.
Gold price finishes Thursday’s session set to reach new all-time highs
Gold price rallied during the North American session on Thursday and hit a new all-time high of $2,225 in the mid-North American session. Precious metal prices are trending higher even though US Treasury yields are advancing, underpinning the Greenback.
Top 3 Price Prediction BTC, ETH, XRP: Retail watches from the sidelines with a bias for shorts
Bitcoin is showing strength as markets head into the Easter holidays. As it rises, altcoins are following suit, with Ethereum and Ripple posting almost similar gains. Meanwhile, there remains an unfilled CME Gap, with a lot of liquidity also resting above and below BTC price.
Bears have been standing before a steamroller so far this year
Despite a pushback on rate cuts from Christopher Waller, and what was supposed to be cautious trading sentiment ahead of critical US inflation data released later on Friday, the S&P 500 rose on Thursday, marking its best first-quarter performance in five years.