USD trades generally weaker

Asia Market Update: Equities rise after gains on Wall St.; UST yields trade slightly lower after prior rise; USD trades generally weaker; Toyota issued mixed outlook; US Jan CPI data due on Thurs.

General trend

- US equity FUTs extend rise.

- Nikkei 225 has extend gain, USD/JPY remains above ¥115 [Softbank Group rises over 5% after its results; Nissan also rises after its figures; Toyota issued mixed guidance].

- Japanese cos. due to report results include Honda, McDonald’s Japan, Renesas, SUMCO, Yamato Holdings, FUJIFILM, Inpex, Shiseido, Japan Petroleum Exploration.

- Hang Seng rose ~2% during morning trading [opened higher by 1.6%]; TECH and Mainland Property indices rise.

- Shanghai Composite ended the morning session modestly higher [Telecom Services and Consumer Staples indices outperformed].

- S&P ASX 200 extended rise; Financials gain after results from Commonwealth Bank; Iron ore names trade lower [China pledged to keep ore prices stable; Mineral Resources dropped after issuing H1 results].

- Taiwan Semi may release Jan sales on Thursday [Feb 10th].

- Companies due to report during the NY morning include Avaya Holdings, Bunge, Cameco, CDW, The Chef’s Warehouse, CME, CVS, Fox Corporation, ICL Group, II-VI, Lithia Motors, Penske Automotive, Perion Network, Performance Food Group, Radware Reynolds Consumer Products, Teva, Triumph Group, Trimble, Yum! Brands.

Headlines/Economic data

Australia/New Zealand

- ASX 200 opened 0.0%.

- CBA.AU Reports H1 (A$) Cash profit 4.75B v 3.89B y/y; Net interest income 9.75B v 9.4B y/y, to buyback A$2.0B in shares.

- (AU) Australia Feb Westpac Consumer Confidence: 100.8 v 102.2 prior; M/M: -1.3% v -2.0% prior.

- (AU) Australia sells A$1.0B v A$1.0B indicated in 1.75% Nov 2032 bonds; Avg Yield: 2.1435% v 1.9536% prior ; bid-to-cover 3.23x v 2.15x prior [from Jan 28th].

Japan

- Nikkei 225 opened +0.7%.

- (JP) Japan Industry Ministry expected to increase the gasoline subsidy to ¥5/liter - financial press.

- (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) Member Nakamura: Expects CPI to continue to pick up, BOJ to continue with easing persistently; Pick up in domestic economy now evident.

- (JP) Bank of Japan (BOJ) announced review of the benchmark ratio used to calculate the macro add-on balance in current account balances at the BOJ to which a zero interest rate is applied: set the ratio at 4.0% (5.5% prior) for the Feb reserve maintenance period.

- 7203.JP Reports 9M Net ¥2.32T v ¥1.47T y/y, Op ¥2.53T v ¥1.51T y/y, Rev ¥23.27T v ¥19.53T y/y.

- 6501.JP KKR, Bain Capital and Baring Private Equity Asia are said to be shortlisted to acquire minority stake in transportation unit – press.

- 9984.JP Registration of Alibaba ADS not related to SoftBank transaction - press citing co.

- 7201.JP Reports 9M Net +¥201.3B v -¥367.7B y/y, Op +¥191.3B v -¥131.6B y/y, Rev ¥6.15T v ¥5.32T y/y; raises guidance (yesterday after the close).

Korea

- Kospi opened +1.0%.

- SK Telecom, 017670.KR Reports FY21 (KRW) Net 2.4T v 1.5T y/y; Op 1.4T v 1.2T y/y; Rev 16.7T v 16.1T y/y; Guides FY22 Rev 17.4T.

- (KR) According to US think tank, Beyond Parallel, recent satellite photos have shown "somewhat unusual" activity at a North Korean submarine shipyard, including the repositioning of a missile test barge.

China/Hong Kong

- Hang Seng opened +1.6%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.1%.

- (CN) China only bought 62.9% of goods promised under Phase 1 of the trade deal made under Trump, energy was area where China missed most targets - press.

- (CN) China PBOC and financial regulators to establish legal standards for digital currency under a 5 year plan.

- (CN) China PBOC sets Yuan reference rate: 6.3653 v 6.3569 prior.

- (CN) China PBOC Open Market Operation (OMO): Sells CNY20B in 7-day reverse repos v CNY20B prior; Net drain CNY180B v Net drain CNY130B prior.

- (CN) China state backed funds said to have intervened in the market yesterday – press.

- (HK) Hong Kong Finance Sec Chan: Hong Kong cannot have the same sort of lockdown as mainland China; Very optimistic that HK Can open up within the next year.

North America

- (US) Fed's Daly (non-voter, dove): Favors raising interest rates in March; Do not expect 2% CPI by year end, Inflation could get worse before it gets better but expects inflation to get better - CNN.

- YUMC Reports Q4 $0.03 v $0.35 y/y, Rev $2.29B v $2.26B y/y.

- (CA) Follow Up: The Ambassador Bridge, which carries >25% of all trade between the US and Canada remains blocked for the 3rd straight day.

Europe

- (FR) France Stats Agency (Insee) forecasts inflation rising from 2.9% in Jan to 3.4% in June due to higher oil prices.

- (UK) National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) official Mortimer-Lee: BOW failures have left UK one shock from a recessions, combo of higher energy bills, taxes and inflation leave the economy vulnerable to a downturn - UK press.

Levels as of 00:15ET

- Hang Seng +2.2%; Shanghai Composite +0.7%; Kospi +0.9%; Nikkei225 +1.2%; ASX 200 +1.1%.

- Equity Futures: S&P500 +0.5%; Nasdaq100 +0.5%, Dax +0.4%; FTSE100 +0.4%.

- EUR 1.1433-1.1412; JPY 115.64-115.32; AUD 0.7168-0.7142; NZD 0.6664-0.6641.

- Commodity Futures: Gold +0.0% at $1,828/oz; Crude Oil +0.4% at $89.74/brl; Copper -0.0% at $4.47/lb.