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StreetAccount Summary - Asian Market Recap: Nikkei +2.02%, Hang Seng +0.12%, Shanghai Composite (0.00%) as of 04:10 ET

Jun 28 ,2023

  • Synopsis:

    • Asian equities mostly higher Wednesday. Japan closed higher with both Topix and Nikkei up by 2%. Australia rallied too. Hang Seng logged some small gains, mainland China mostly lower. South Korean stocks underperformed. Taiwan higher, Southeast Asia mostly flat, India surging to record highs. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures lower, Europe opened higher. 10Y Treasury yield little changed, JGB yields up slightly. Dollar higher, AUD under pressure post inflation data. Crude higher, industrial metals flat, precious metals lower.

    • Asia ex Japan markets lacking direction today with a lack of substantive catalysts. US-China tensions back in focus following reports Biden administration considering new curbs on exports of AI chips to China, which saw Nvidia shares slide in US after-hours trading. China industrial profits contracted at a slightly shallower rate in Jan-May, reflecting soft demand and ongoing factory-gate deflation. Poll showed economists widely expect China to provide more stimulus via both monetary and fiscal policies.

    • Australian monthly inflation fell by more than expected to lowest since April 2022, tempering likelihood of a July rate hike. Japan's government reportedly weighing extending energy bill subsidies beyond September.

    • Nissan Motor (7201.JP) announced new members of executive committee following departure of COO Ashwani Gupta. Poly Developments (600048.CH), GreatTown (600094.CH), Hubei Fuxing (000926.CH), and CCCG Real Estate (000736.CH) have obtained approval for equity refinancing projects, marking official launch of "third arrow." Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) to apply its most advanced 2-nanometer chips to mobiles in 2025. Singapore Airlines (C6L.SP) CEO Goh Choon Phong had an 86% increase in his renumeration last FY, putting him among the best-paid CEOs in the industry..

  • Digest:

    • China seen ramping up stimulus:

      • Latest Bloomberg poll showed economists widely expect China to provide more stimulus via monetary and fiscal policies. PBOC seen lowering the 1-year MLF rate 5 bp and seven-day reverse repo rate 10 bp in Q4. MLF rate cut estimates ranged between 5 bp and 20 bp, implying risks skewed to the upside. Story also mentioned more general forecasts for RRR cut in coming months. Article recalled PBOC's surprise rate cut earlier this month fueled speculation of more stimulus, although the State Council has been slow to announce any new measures. Pessimism increased toward China's growth outlook in response to weaker economic data. Consumer spending in particular disappointed during last week's holiday. Fiscal stimulus calls were virtually unanimous, mostly looking for tax breaks, followed by policy bank financing for infrastructure projects and increased local government special bond quota. GDP forecasts revised down to 7.5% in Q2 (from 7.7%) with sequential growth lowered to 0.8% q/q from 1.1%, though 2023 and 2024 projections remain unchanged at 5.5% and 4.9% respectively.

    • US weighs new curbs on AI chips sent to China:

      • Reuters cited media reports that Biden administration is considering new restrictions on exports of AI chips to China. Commerce Department could act as soon as early July to stop shipments of chips made by Nvidia (NVDA) and other chip makers to China and other countries of concern. Noted Nvidia's A800 chips which met previous export control rules will be banned for sale to China without first obtaining a license under new curbs. Move would form part of final rules codifying and expanding export control measures announced last October. Noted Washington is likely to wait until Treasury Secretary Yellen's planned visit to China in early July to avoid angering Beijing. Bloomberg also reported Biden administration is finalizing an executive order that would potentially cut off certain US investments in China as soon as late July.

    • Australian monthly inflation falls to lowest since Apr-2022:

      • Australian monthly inflation fell to 5.6% y/y in May from +6.8% in April, undershooting consensus for a 6.1% read. Inflation fell to lowest since April 2022, driven largely by drop in fuel prices. Some discretionary categories also experienced lower inflation with clothing prices in outright decline and holiday travel inflation back to single digits. Still signs of inflation stickiness in some services components with rent growth accelerating to highest in more than 10 years and expected to continue rising amid historically low vacancy rates. Electricity price inflation remains elevated and will increase further as new and higher default rates go into effect on 1-Jul. Initial takes noted data eroded already slim prospects of a July rate hike, but RBA expected to maintain tightening bias and will await Q2 CPI in late July before deciding on a potential August rate increase. Prior to data markets were pricing in two more rate hikes by end-2023.

    • China industrial profits remain weak, while pace of declines slows:

      • Profits at industrial firms in China declined 18.8% y/y in Jan.- May, slower than 20.6% drop in first four months of 2023.Profits for May alone fell 12.6% y/y,versus a 18.2% y/y drop for April. Data reflecting impact of soft demand and ongoing factory-gate deflation, which Reuters noted continued weakness in profits came amid economy was losing steam with sluggish retail sales, exports and property investment. Meanwhile ShanghaiSecuciritesNews noted the magnitude of declines has been narrowing for three months in a row with equipment manufacturing seeing rapid growth, with its profits rising 15.2% y/y in May. Other bright spots included electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply, which all recorded double-digit growth. Article acknowledged "complex external environment" and "insufficient domestic demand", which restrict recovery of industrial profits. Noted Premier Li Qiang said China will roll out more policy measures to shore up demand in his speech at Summer Davos in Tianjin Tuesday.

    • Yen depreciation continues but moderate momentum may not prompt intervention:

      • Bloomberg discussed how Japanese policymakers and business leaders appear far more sanguine about recent yen weakness than they were last year, a sign they see declines as temporary. Noted yen is at a near eight-month low against the dollar and 15-year low vs euro, though reactions have not indicated panic yet. Cited one key factor is the perception central banks are approaching terminal rates. Market-based rate hike expectations by major central banks over the next 12 months are well below levels seen during intervention last year. Also noted volatility has been much lower than last year and Japan has a long-stated focus on the pace of declines rather than any particular target. Recalled FX intervention occurred last year when yen approached 146 in September and 152 in October, on each occasion moving more than 2 yen in less than 24 hours. Another notable difference from last year is the resurgence in foreign tourist numbers whose spending is supported by a softer yen. Still, the article cited thoughts that a further decline toward 150 would likely prompt fresh action.

    • Notable Gainers:

      • +28.3% 3799.HK (Dali Foods Group): Proposes privatization at HK$3.75/share by way of scheme of arrangement

      • +5.2% 7649.JP (Sugi Holdings Co.): Reports Q1 profit attributable ¥5.56B vs year-ago ¥4.61B; guides FY profit attributable ¥20B, +5.2% y/y

    • Notable Decliners:

      • -10.9% 2186.HK (Luye Pharma Group): To issue $180M principal amount in convertible bonds due 2028

      • -6.2% 9107.JP (Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha): Downgraded to equal-weight from overweight at Morgan Stanley MUFG

      • -5.6% 1605.TT (Walsin Lihwa): To issue 30M GDRs at $12.97 each to raise $389.1M

  • Data:

    • Economic:

      • China

        • May industrial profits YTD (18.8%) y/y vs (20.6%) in prior month

          • Industrial profits (12.6%) y/y vs (18.2%) in prior month

      • Australia

        • May CPI 5.6% vs consensus +6.1% and +6.8% in April

    • Markets:

      • Nikkei: 655.66 or +2.02% to 33193.99

      • Hang Seng: 23.92 or +0.12% to 19172.05

      • Shanghai Composite: (0.07) or (0.00%) to 3189.38

      • Shenzhen Composite: (8.95) or (0.44%) to 2021.03

      • ASX200: 78.30 or +1.10% to 7196.50

      • KOSPI: (17.20) or (0.67%) to 2564.19

      • SENSEX: 572.60 or +0.90% to 63988.63

    • Currencies:

      • $-¥: (0.02) or (0.01%) to 144.0520

      • $-KRW: +8.82 or +0.68% to 1308.2500

      • A$-$: (0.00) or (0.69%) to 0.6639

      • $-INR: +0.03 or +0.04% to 82.0320

      • $-CNY: +0.01 or +0.16% to 7.2317

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