Equities trade generally lower

Asia Market Update: Equities trade generally lower, modest moves seen thus far; BOK hiked rates for the first time since 2018, KRW and yields decline; Xi commented on growth.

General trend

- Nikkei 225 pared opening gain.

- Hang Seng has moved modestly lower [TECH index drops over 1.5%, Xiaomi and Kuaishou decline after earnings reports; Financials trade generally lower; EV companies drop amid warning from the Chinese press].

- Shanghai Composite ended morning trading modestly lower (-0.5%) [Financials lag ahead of upcoming bank earnings; Consumer and IT indices also drop].

- S&P ASX 200 has remained lower amid focus on earnings [Resources index lagged; Transport index rises on results from Qantas]; Various cos. reported earnings (including Woolworths, Qantas, Flight Center, Appen).

- US Q2 GDP revision due later today.

- China’s Commerce Ministry (MOFCOM) sometimes holds weekly news conferences on Thurs.

Headlines/Economic Data

Australia/New Zealand

-ASX 200 opened -0.1%.

- (AU) AUSTRALIA Q2 PRIVATE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE Q/Q: 4.4% V 2.6%E.

- (AU) Australia total weekly payroll jobs change for July 17-31: -2.0% v -1.8% prior; Wages -2.7% v -3.2% prior.

- QAN.AU Reports FY21 (A$) Net -1.73B v -1.96B y/y; Underlying EBIT -1.53B v 395M y/y; Rev 5.93B v 14.3B y/y.

- WOW.AU Reports FY21 (A$) adj Net 1.97B v 1.17B y/y; adj EBIT 3.7B v 3.2B y/y; Rev 55.7B v 53.1B y/y; Announces A$2.0B off-market stock buyback.

- QUB.AU Reports FY21 (A$) Net 91.6M (includes discontinued operations) v 87.5M y/y; Rev 2.03B v 1.88B y/y; Declares A$0.035/shr final dividend.

- APX.AU Reports H1 Net $6.7M v $22.3M y/y; Rev $196.6M v $306.2M y/y; To acquire data provider Quadrant, involves upfront payment of $25M.

- (NZ) New Zealand PM Ardern: New coronavirus case numbers were not unexpected; Elimination remains best strategy, don't intend to use lockdowns forever.

Japan

-Nikkei 225 opened +0.3%.

- (JP) Japan lower house election expected in Oct or later (in line) - Japanese press.

- 6504.JP To invest additional ¥40B on chips, seeking to increase production capacity for power chips - Japanese press.

- (JP) Japan Investors Net Buying of Foreign Bonds: -¥225.2B v +¥661.8B prior; Foreign Net Buying of Japan Stocks: ¥55.9 v +¥198.8B prior - week ended Aug 21.

- (JP) Japan Ruling Party (LDP) agrees on leadership election on Sept 29th - Press.

- (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥1.2T v ¥1.2T indicated in 0.500% 20-year JGBs, avg yield: 0.4050% v 0.4040% prior, bid to cover 3.65x v 3.51x prior.

Korea

-Kospi opened +0.1%.

- (KR) BANK OF KOREA (BOK) RAISES 7-DAY REPO RATE BY 25BPS TO 0.75%; NOT EXPECTED (1st rate hike since Nov 2018).

China/Hong Kong

-Hang Seng opened -0.1%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.1%.

- (CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Injects CNY50B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY50B in 7-day reverse repos prior; Net inject CNY40B v Net Inject CNY40B prior.

- (CN) China President Xi: Urging China to make efforts to meet 2021 growth targets.

- (CN) China PBOC to use multiple tools to ensure 'reasonably ample' market liquidity - PBOC backed Financial News.

- (CN) China Securities Daily: The electric vehicle market is overheating and shows risks.

- (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.4730 v 6.4728 prior.

- 1810.HK Reports Q2 (CNY) Net 8.27B v 5.99Be, Rev 87.8B v 53.5B y/y (yesterday after the close).

Other

- (PH) Philippines Central Bank (BSP) Gov Diokno: Central bank is keen on keeping monetary support as long as needed.

North America

- (US) Former Fed Chair Bernanke: Commodity prices will not add to inflation going forward.

Europe

- (UK) July Car Manufacturing 53.4K unit, -37.6% y/y (lowest since 1956); YTD Manufacturing 552.4K units, +18.3% y/y – SMMT.

- (DE) According to the latest Forsa poll, Germany SPD party is ahead of CDU, 23% v CDU's 22% - FT.

Levels as of 01:20 ET

- Nikkei 225, flat, ASX 200 -0.6% , Hang Seng -1.2%; Shanghai Composite -0.5% ; Kospi -0.4%.

- Equity S&P500 Futures: -0.1%; Nasdaq100 -0.2%, Dax -0.2%; FTSE100 -0.2%.

- EUR 1.1773-1.1761 ; JPY 110.11-109.92 ; AUD 0.7281-0.7255 ;NZD 0.6979-0.6957.

- Gold -0.2% at $1,788/oz; Crude Oil -0.8% at $67.81/brl; Copper -0.7% at $4.2360/lb.