China CPI comes in as expected, firms yuan setting

Asia Market Update: China CPI comes in as expected, firms yuan setting; equities mixed; Showa Shell and Idemitsu announce deal

General Trend:

- Asian equity markets trade mixed; Shanghai pares gain

- Tech sector weighs on the Hang Seng

- Japan markets supported by gains in Real Estate, Iron/Steel and IT companies

- Softbank rises after declines of over 6% in prior session

- Rio Tinto rises after Q3 production update

- New Zealand Q3 CPI above ests, remains below mid-point of 1-3% target

- China Sept CPI data in line, core inflation slows

- China fixed the yuan firmer for the first time in over 3 weeks

- Chipmaker Nanya Technology expected to report Q3 results

- US companies expected to report on Tuesday (including afterhours) include BlackRock, CSX, Domino’s Pizza, Goldman Sachs, IBM, J&J, Lam Research, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, United Continental, UnitedHealth and WW Grainger

- BHP is expected to issue its quarterly production update on Wed (Oct 17th)

Headlines/Economic Data

Japan

-Nikkei 225 opened +0.1%

- (JP) Moody's: Outlook for Japan's banking system is stable, although challenges are apparent

- (JP) Japan Trade Min Seko: Finance ministers can handle any US/Japan currency talks

- 4552.JP Receives FDA Orphan Designation for treatment of Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II (MPS II) or Hunter Syndrome [-1%]

- (JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: US and Japan have agreed FX chiefs to talk about currency; Downside risks posed by emerging market economies are increasing

-(JP) Japan MOF sells ¥2.0T v ¥2.0T indicated in 0.10% 5-yr JGB: avg yield: -0.055% v -0.076% prior, bid to cover: 4.88x v 3.95x prior

-5002.JP To merge with Idemitsu: Share Exchange Ratio 1 Idemitsu share to 0.41 Showa shares; to be delisted March 27th ahead of merger

Korea

-Kospi opened +0.5%

- (KR) South Korea to announce a set of measures in Oct to help generate new jobs; views employment as being "at a critical situation" based on data - Korean press

-(KR) South Korea brokerages expect BOK to keep policy on hold at Thursday's meeting; 4 companies see 25bp hike in November meeting - Korean press

China/Hong Kong

-Hang Seng opened +0.6%, Shanghai Composite flat

- (CN) CHINA SEPT CPI Y/Y: 2.5% V 2.5%E (7-month high); PPI y/y: 3.6% v 3.5%e

- (CN) China should curb the pace of IPOs in order to ease stock supply - Chinese press

- (CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips OMO v skipped prior: Net: nil v nil prior

- (CN) China PBoC set yuan reference rate: 6.9119 v 6.9154 prior

- (HK) Certain home purchases in Hong Kong said to have forfeited their deposits in the past 2 weeks - Local Press

-(CN) China the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in H1 of 2018, with estimated $70B of inflows - China press citing UN data

-(CN) S&P: China local governments' debts kept off balance sheet could be as high as CNY40T ($6.0T) or more

Australia/New Zealand

-ASX 200 opened +0.1%

- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q3 CPI Q/Q: 0.9% V 0.7%E; Y/Y: 1.9% V 1.7%E

- (AU) Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Oct Meeting Minutes: Uncertain consumption outlook still important consideration

- VAH.AU Shareholder HNA rejected US consortium offer of A$0.175 for 19.8% stake - Australian

- RIO.AU Reports Q3 Pilbara iron ore production 82.5Mt (100% basis) v 85.0Mt y/y; shipments 81.9Mt (100% basis) v 82.5Mte v 85.8Mt y/y

- TLS.AU Affirms FY19 (A$) EBITDA 8.7-9.4B v 8.8Be; Rev 26.2-28.1B v 26.6Be; CAPEX 3.9-4.4B – AGM

- (AU) Australia ANZ Roy Morgan Weekly Consumer Confidence: 119.5 v 117.3 prior

- (NZ) Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ): Has invited Treasury Secretary to observe policy decisions from Oct, invitation accepted by Treasury Sec Makhlouf

- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND RBNZ Q3 SECTORAL FACTOR MODEL INFLATION Y/Y: 1.7% V 1.7% PRIOR; SECTORAL FACTOR MODEL NON-TRADEABLE (CORE) Y/Y: 2.8% V 2.7% PRIOR

Other

- (MY) Think tank Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER):: Cuts 2018 GDP Malaysia growth forecast to 4.7% from 5.5% - financial press

- (PH) Philippines Budget Sec: Cuts 2018 GDP growth forecast to 6.5-6.9% (7-8% prior); Sees 2018 CPI at 4.8-5.2%

North America

-(US) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes rule to require manufacturers to disclose drug prices in TV ads (as suggested earlier by Pres Trump)

-(MX) US said to seek to impose quotas on Mexico steel exports - financial press

-AAPL Reportedly investigating Apple ID thefts in China - Chinese press

Europe

- (UK) Ministers held meeting to discuss concerns on PM May Brexit plan - UK press

-(EU) Analysts continue to expect the ECB to end bond buying program within 3-months - press

Levels as of 01:30ET

- Hang Seng -0.1%; Shanghai Composite +0.1%; Kospi +0.2%; Nikkei225 +0.9%; ASX 200 +0.6%

- Equity Futures: S&P 500 +0.4%; Nasdaq100 +0.6%, Dax +0.5%; FTSE100 +0.4%

- EUR 1.1592-1.1567; JPY 112.11-111.74 ; AUD 0.7143-0.7119;NZD 0.6593-0.6562

- Dec Gold -0.1% at $1,229/oz; Nov Crude Oil +0.2% at $71.92/brl; Dec Copper -0.1% at $2.77/lb