Apr 25 ,2024
Synopsis:
Asia equities ended mixed Thursday. Continued momentum in Hong Kong with another gain today, mainland boards also higher. Small gains in some Southeast Asia boards but elsewhere, bourses largely lower. Steep losses for the Nikkei, which reversed all of yesterday's gains, South Korea and Taiwan also sharply lower. India currently higher after a sluggish start. Australia and New Zealand closed for a holiday. US futures lower, Europe opened with more losses although the FTSE100 rose to fresh record highs at the bell. US dollar slightly weaker, yen weakening to fresh 34-year lows. Treasury and JGB yields mixed. Crude firmer, precious metals mixed, industrial metals including iron ore notably higher. Cryptocurrencies volatile.
Asia equities followed through from another selloff in tech stocks post the close on Wall Street following Meta's poor Q2 revenue and outlook statements, which leaned on IT and social media stocks in the Asia region today. Another warning from a Taiwan chip manufacturer on demand also rattled nerves. Renewed downtrend in Japan despite yen weakening again today with eyes fixed on comments from the BOJ tomorrow post a likely 'no-change' on rates. 160 per dollar seen as the new BOJ red line although commentators point to BOJ concerns on the pace of weakening rather than a fixed number.
South Korea Q1 GDP was better than expected, underpinned by growth in construction but officials warned of obstacles ahead. Authorities there also rolled out a market monitoring system to detect illegal short selling ahead of a possible end to the current ban in June. China consensus forecasts for 2024 GDP growth raised to 4.8% from 4.6% on the back of surprising strength in Q1 data.
Toyota Motor (7203.JP) said it would fail to meet its global production targets because of recent data-rigging scandals at several of its affiliates. BHP Group (BHP.AU) confirmed it has made a non-binding, all-share offer worth around $38.8B for Anglo American (AAL.LN) in what could be biggest deal in mining industry in more than a decade. TSMC (2330.TT) says it will start production of ultra-advanced 1.6-nm chips by 2026. UMC (2303.TT) warned on chip demand from industrial and automotive sector but low inventory levels in other sectors meant overall Q2 wafer shipments would improve. Malaysian officials are speaking with casino companies including Genting over building a casino in Country Garden's (2007.HK) Forest City near Singapore. Xiaomi (1810.HK) said it had received 75K orders for its SU7 sports EV, targets 10K deliveries in June. Four South Korea low-budget carriers have submitted bids for Asiana Airlines' (020560.KS) cargo business.
Digest:
China GDP consensus forecasts revised up:
Latest Bloomberg poll showed the consensus forecast for China's 2024 GDP growth improved to 4.8% from 4.6% last month, moving back towards the government target of around 5%. Mainly attributed to better-than-expected Q1 data. However, overhang from deflation risk remains with average CPI inflation projection shaved to 0.6% from 0.8%, while PPI declines seen deepening to 0.6% vs prior 0.3%. Article recalled Q1 strength largely reflected momentum in Jan-Feb while March indicators softened. Most still see property market downturn as the biggest risk factor this year, followed by soft inflation and weak domestic consumption. Amid ongoing calls for stronger stimulus, real estate measures topped the list, followed by accelerated public spending. Recalled government plans for fiscal expansion though bond issuance has been slower than expected, partly because authorities were still looking for ways to invest the funds they raised last year, amid a lack of qualified projects. Positive indications came from NDRC's completion of screening projects qualifying for LGSB funding. On PBOC policy, survey showed expectations for a 25 bp RRR cut brought forward to Q2 vs prior Q3. MLF rate seen lowered 10 bp by June-end and in Q4.
No narrative shifts as yen falls to 155 vs dollar ahead of BOJ meeting:
Market narrative surrounding FX and BOJ unchanged overnight after yen fell to 155 per dollar overnight to mark a fresh 34-year low. Nikkei feature article said threat of FX intervention keeping speculators at bay, though dollar demand among importers and institutional investors remains strong. Article repeated prior discussions about MOF's line in the sand with 155 widely mentioned, and absence of intervention could clear the path for a continuation to towards 160. Positioning remains a big overhang as latest CFTC data as of 16-April showed speculative shorts at their highest since 2007. Markets see a lower bar for intervention after the trilateral finance meeting and G7 finance statement issued, while domestic corporates are calling for FX relief. In the meantime, attention falling to BOJ after Governor Ueda alluded to the possibility of a policy change if yen depreciation notably impacts trend inflation. But there was no update on Nikkei's MPM preview Thursday after previously indicating board members would only discuss FX developments with consensus polls showing near unanimous expectations of no change this week.
South Korea key earnings mostly better than expected:
Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) Q1 headline metrics came in above FactSet consensus and proposed a KRW2,000/sh dividend. Company attributed sales declines to temporary output suspensions in preparation for new vehicle launches, though demand underpinned by solid growth in North America and India (Reuters). LG Electronics (066570.KS) missed on net income attributable and revenue, while operating earnings were in line with preliminary estimates. Sales in home appliance and business solutions segments beat expectations while 'other' category notably missed. LG Display (034220.KS) logged a smaller than expected operating loss as revenues beat though still reflected weak demand in TVs and smartphones. Most of the attention went to SK Hynix (000660.KS), which sold off despite posting markedly stronger than expected operating earnings, put down to technical payback from yesterday's strength. Takeaways were broadly positive after signaling higher capex in High Bandwidth Memory and sees memory market entering full recovery on strength in AI demand.
South Korea Q1 GDP beats:
GDP expanded 1.3% q/q in Q1, better than consensus 0.6%. Follows 0.6% in the previous quarter and marks the strongest growth since 4Q21. Private consumption growth accelerated, construction rebounded from prior weakness. Exports grew while imports declined, translating to a positive net contribution from external demand. Most of the attention went to export growth as a positive indication of cyclical dynamics, albeit pace softened markedly from H2 last year. Also, sector breakdown showed growth in manufacturing, construction, services and utilities. Upside surprise seen supporting recent BOK remarks that 2024 GDP growth could outpace their current projection of 2.1%. Also fits into the higher-for-longer rate theme with inflation remaining above target and resilience in cyclical momentum. Won weakness has been the key focus lately after Finance Minister Choi revealed authorities have scenario-base FX responses in place after the trilateral meeting with US and Japan. At the post-meeting press conference, Governor Rhee said BOK is monitoring for excessive weakness and has measures to stabilize the currency market if needed. Analyst consensus looks for 25 bp cuts in Q3 and Q4.
South Korea moves closer to ending short-selling ban with new monitoring system:
South Korea's financial market watchdog and stock exchange said they have developed centralized short-selling monitoring platform that is capable of detecting changes in institutional balances, and thus have ability to identify illegal short selling transactions (Yonhap). Brings end to current ban on short selling step closer after President Yoon said ban will remain until monitoring system in place. Naked short selling target of ban although covered short selling also caught up in rules introduced last November. Critics said ban was imposed to placate retail investors ahead of parliamentary elections, while relatively low level of naked trades and poor record of monitoring systems elsewhere, risked turning ban into political rather than market issue (Bloomberg). Authorities also want to loosen short-selling rules for retail investors, fix new borrowing limits for institutionals and foreign investors once ban lifted (Reuters).
Notable Gainers:
+5.3% 2333.HK (Great Wall Motor): reports Q1 CAS revenue CNY42.86B, +48% vs year-ago CNY29.04B
+1.7% 011070.KS (LG Innotek Co.): reports Q1 Operating profit KRW176.04B vs FactSet KRW130.36B
+0.5% 6723.JP (Renesas Electronics): reports Q1 non-GAAP net income attributable ¥105.9B vs StreetAccount ¥88.78B
Notable Decliners:
-12.0% 9901.HK (New Oriental Education & Technology Group): reports Q3 non-GAAP EPADS $0.63 vs StreetAccount $0.76
-10.9% 500247.IN (Kotak Mahindra Bank): RBI directs Kotak Bank to stop onboarding new customers via online and mobile banking, and new credit cards
-8.4% 7751.JP (Canon): reports Q1 revenue ¥988.52B vs StreetAccount ¥1.008T, operating profit ¥80.08B vs StreetAccount ¥90.03B
-4.9% 6752.JP (Panasonic): guides FY operating profit ¥360.00B vs prior guidance ¥400.00B and FactSet ¥402.44B
-3.3% 7203.JP (Toyota Motor): reports March global production (10.3%) y/y to 807,026
-3.2% 373220.KS (LG Energy Solution): reports Q1 net income KRW212.1B vs year-ago KRW562.0B
-1.9% 9009.JP (Keisei Electric Railway Co.): Palliser Capital submits proposal to table advisory resolution focused on capital allocation at Keisei's AGM
-1.3% 207940.KS (SAMSUNG BIOLOGICS): reports Q1 operating profit KRW221.30B vs StreetAccount KRW231.80B
-0.7% 316140.KS (Woori Financial Group): reportedly among firms looking at buying Lotte Insurance
Data:
Economic:
South Korea
Q1 GDP +1.3% q/q vs consensus +0.6% and +0.6% in prior quarter
GDP +3.4% y/y vs consensus +2.4% and +2.2% in prior quarter
Markets:
Nikkei: (831.60) or (2.16%) to 37628.48
Hang Seng: 83.27 or +0.48% to 17284.54
Shanghai Composite: 8.08 or +0.27% to 3052.90
Shenzhen Composite: 3.52 or +0.21% to 1698.34
ASX200: 0.00 or 0.00% to 7683.00
KOSPI: (47.13) or (1.76%) to 2628.62
SENSEX: 168.04 or +0.23% to 74020.98
Currencies:
$-¥: +0.34 or +0.22% to 155.6530
$-KRW: (4.99) or (0.36%) to 1372.8800
A$-$: +0.00 or +0.44% to 0.6525
$-INR: +0.02 or +0.02% to 83.3515
$-CNY: +0.00 or +0.00% to 7.2461
This information and data is provided for general informational purposes only. The Bank of New York Mellon and our information suppliers do not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of this information or data. We provide no advice nor recommendation or endorsement with respect to any company or securities. We do not undertake any obligation to update or amend this information or data. Nothing herein shall be deemed to constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities.
Please refer to "Terms Of Use".
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS:
NOT FDIC, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY INSURED
MAY LOSE VALUE
NO BANK, STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY GUARANTEE