Asian indices have generally reversed the higher openings seen after the gains on Wall St

Asia Market Update: Asian indices have generally reversed the higher openings seen after the gains on Wall St.; CN and HK markets declined amid comments from gov’t officials; USD index FUTs extended rise; AU 10-yr yield rose after RBA.

General Trend

- Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng have moved lower following comments from China CBIRC Chairman [discussed leverage, loan rate, property market, foreign bubbles, capital flows] and Hong Kong’s Financial Sec [commented on stock trading tax and dividend tax]

- Australian equities ended lower despite the higher open [Energy, Resources and Consumer Discretionary firms declined; Financials rose]

- Nikkei 225 is currently close to session lows [Transports underperform]

- South Korea Kospi outperformed following Monday’s holiday

- Energy firms trade generally lower after drop in oil prices

- Fast Retailing is due to report Feb sales later today

- South Korea disclosed the size of its latest extra budget and associated bond issuance

- RBNZ official discusses recent move to not issue cash rate projections

- RBA commented on its recently stepped up bond purchases, no specific mention of Nov 2024 bond; 10-yr yield rose following statement

- Australia Q4 GDP data due on Wed (March 3rd)

- Japan’s bid to cover declines at 10-year JGB auction

- Companies expected to report during the NY morning include AerCap, Abercrombie & Fitch, AutoZone, Chico’s, Dine Brands, Hovnanian, International Game Technology, Kohl’s, Lumber Liquidators, Target

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

-ASX 200 opened +0.6%

- (AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) LEAVES CASH RATE TARGET UNCHANGED AT 0.10%, AS EXPECTED; MAINTAINS 3-YEAR YIELD TARGET AT 0.10%; MAINTAINS A$100B BOND BUYING PROGRAM

- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence Index: 110.3 v 109.2 prior (highest since Apr 2020)

- (NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand Assistant Gov Hawkesby: Reiterates have room to cut rates, can increase bond buying if needed, committed to prolonged stimulius; recovery remains uneven, fragile with a muted outlook

- (AU) AUSTRALIA JAN BUILDING APPROVALS M/M: -19.4% V -3.0%E

Japan

-Nikkei 225 opened +0.9%

- (JP) JAPAN JAN JOBLESS RATE: 2.9% V 3.0%E; Job to applicant ratio: 1.10 v 1.06e

- (JP) JAPAN Q4 CAPITAL SPENDING (CAPEX) Y/Y: -4.8% V -2.0%E; CAPITAL SPENDING EX-SOFTWARE: -6.1% V -3.0%E

Korea

-Kospi opened +0.3%

- (KR) South Korea Feb PMI Manufacturing: 55.3 v 53.2 prior (highest since April 2010)

- (KR) South Korea Jan Industrial Production M/M: -1.6% v 1.0%e; Y/Y: 7.5% v 3.4% prior

- (KR) South Korea Jan Retail Sales M/M: 1.6% v +0.2% prior; Y/Y: 0.0% v -2.0% prior (1st positive reading in 5 months)

- 005930.KR Said to be increasing investment into semiconductors and speeding up equipment installation amid a global chip shortage - Industry press

- (KR) South Korea said to increase bond issuance by KRW9.9T to finance extra budget

China/Hong Kong

-Hang Seng opened +0.9%; Shanghai Composite opened +0.4%

- (CN) China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) Chairman Guo: To keep focusing on preventing financial risks; China to curb reckless capital expansion

- (CN) Former PBOC Official Sheng Songcheng reiterates that China should not tighten policy in H1 2021 - financial press

- (HK) Hong Kong Financial Sec Chan: Increased Stock trading tax a fraction of costs for high frequency traders; Not ruling out additional duties on equity trades, but not currently planning for additional stock tax increase; No plan for a dividend tax at this stage

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

- (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4625 v 6.4754 prior

- 981.HK Said to have received supplier's license for some US manufacturers - Chinese press

- 6688.HK Exec Chairman Jing: Looking for ways to help workers monetize some shares after IPO was suspended, also assuring them there will be an IPO - Press

North America

- XPEV Reports Feb deliveries 2.22K v 6.02K prior, +577% y/y - US financial press

Europe

- (DE) Germany Econ Min Altmaier: wants some businesses to reopen in March

Levels as of 12:15ET

- Hang Seng -1.7%; Shanghai Composite -1.5%; Kospi +0.4%; Nikkei225 -1.0%; ASX 200 -0.4%.

- Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.5%; Nasdaq100 -0.5%, Dax -0.8%; FTSE100 -0.3%.

- EUR 1.2051-1.2015; JPY 106.92-106.69 ;AUD 0.7781-0.7737; NZD 0.7284-0.7240.

- Commodity Futures: Gold -0.6% at $1,713/oz; Crude Oil -1.3% at $59.83/brl; Copper -0.8% at $4.06/lb.