Feb 25 ,2024
Synopsis:
Asian markets set for a mixed start to Monday trade. Nikkei futures pointing to gain on the open as Japan resumes trade following Friday public holiday. ASX higher in initial trade. Hang Seng futures little changed. S&P 500 futures flat following quiet Friday session. Australian and New Zealand curves bull flattening following Treasury rally on Friday. Dollar price action remains muted. Crude suffered first weekly loss in three. Gold up for the week though devoid of direction over February. Bitcoin remains range bound.
China markets on track for strong February with benchmarks up 7-8% month-to-date. Rally fueling debate whether it will last or precede another leg lower. Bullish camp point to record valuation discounts, depressed sentiment indicators, stronger market intervention efforts, and enduring hopes for more meaningful policy support. However, bears cite still-weak economic fundamentals, authorities' track record of underwhelming stimulus, negative foreign investor sentiment and geopolitical headwinds.
Elsewhere, more discussions about Japan equity strength after Nikkei hit record high last week. Press highlighting views that rally has more room to run, underpinned largely by bottom-up factors (earnings growth, corporate governance reform). AI proliferation theme has also been prominent in Asia lately with NVDA's blockbuster results translating to outsized weekly gains in prominent regional semiconductor firms.
Fed officials have continued to highlight need to see more evidence on inflation, driving another round of hawkish pivot repricing. Markets now pricing in three rate cuts in 2024, in-line with Fed's median outlook from December SEP. Goldman the latest to wind back rate cut expectations, now penciling in four over 2024 vs five previously. However, Fedspeak still supportive of pivot while equities have largely shrugged of the hawkish repricing.
Asian economic week relatively sparse. China PMIs among high profile data points with official manufacturing gauge forecast to have remained in contraction and non-manufacturing activity marginally positive. Caixin PMI forecast to show factory activity expanding at similar pace to January. RBNZ expected to leave OCR unchanged though some thought it may retain tightening bias. Japan and Australian CPI also due out this week.
Pre-open Company News:
688122.CH -- Western Superconducting Technologies Co. reports preliminary FY net income attributable CNY753.2M vs year-ago CNY1.08B
9888.HK -- StreetAccount Consensus Metrics Preview - Baidu Q4 Earnings
COM7.TB -- Com7 Public downgraded to sell at DAOL Securities
3969.HK -- China CRSC guides FY net income attributable CNY3.47 vs FactSet CNY3.70B [5 est, CNY3.29-4.01B]
4197.MK -- Sime Darby upgraded to buy from hold at Maybank Investment Bank
300454.CH -- Sangfor Technologies downgraded to hold from buy at HSBC
015760.KS -- Korea Electric Power upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley
009830.KS -- HANWHA SOLUTIONS downgraded to neutral from buy at BofA
9690.HK -- Tuhu Car upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs
300496.CH -- Thunder Software Technology downgraded to hold from buy at HSBC
2268.HK -- WuXi XDC Cayman initiated buy at GF Securities
2308.TT -- StreetAccount Consensus Metrics Preview - Delta Electronics Q4 Earnings
^TTNASIA -- Inflation readings, China PMIs, and RBNZ meeting among this week's highlights:
COM7.TB -- Com7 Public downgraded to hold from buy at Maybank Investment Bank
5285.MK -- Sime Darby Plantation downgraded to hold from buy at UOB Kay Hian Securities
On Deck:
China:
Economic:
08:00 CST: Foreign Direct Investment Y/Y; consensus
Hong Kong:
Earnings:
CLP Holdings (2.HK)
South Korea:
Earnings:
HYBE Co. (352820.KS)
Australia:
Earnings:
Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure (DBI.AU), Altium (ALU.AU), Appen (APX.AU), Johns Lyng Group (JLG.AU), noumi Ltd. (NOU.AU), Qoria (QOR.AU), Dicker Data (DDR.AU), Redox Ltd. (RDX.AU), Abacus Group (ABG.AU), Ansarada Group (AND.AU), Austin Engineering (ANG.AU), City Chic Collective (CCX.AU), Cooper Energy (COE.AU), Coles Group (COL.AU), G8 Education (GEM.AU), Helia Group (HLI.AU), Healius (HLS.AU), ImpediMed (IPD.AU), Polynovo (PNV.AU), Pacific Smiles Group (PSQ.AU), ReadyTech Holdings (RDY.AU), Reece Australia (REH.AU), Resimac Group (RMC.AU), Southern Cross Electrical Engineering (SXE.AU), Trajan Group Holdings (TRJ.AU)
New Zealand:
Earnings:
Chorus (CNU.NZ), Vector (VCT.NZ), Heartland Group Holdings (HGH.NZ)
Singapore:
Earnings:
Seatrium (S51.SP), SIIC Environment Holdings (BHK.SP), Haw Par Corp. (H02.SP), Ho Bee Land (H13.SP), Nanofilm Technologies International (MZH.SP)
Taiwan:
Earnings:
Chailease Holding (5871.TT)
Philippines:
Earnings:
Manila Electric (MER.PM)
Market Data:
Gold (Apr 24): ($5.10) or (0.25%) to $2044.30
WTI Crude (Apr 24): ($0.05) or (0.07%) to $76.44
$-¥: (0.02) or (0.01%) to 150.4930
$-KRW: (0.99) or (0.07%) to 1330.0000
A$-$: +0.00 or +0.05% to 0.6565
$-INR: (0.00) or (0.00%) to 82.8889
$-CNY: (0.00) or (0.02%) to 7.1939
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