May 20 ,2025
Synopsis:
Asian equities ended mostly higher Tuesday although with most off their peaks. The Hang Seng led the gainers as its growth healthcare and consumer stocks rose post lending rate cuts. Mainland China benchmarks also ended higher. Gains for Australia, Singapore and most of Southeast Asia. Japan dipped into the red by the close, South Korea and Taiwan were flat. India lower for a third consecutive day. US futures lower, Europe flat in the first hour of trade. US dollar lower, AUD weaker post RBA decision, other Asia currencies strengthening. Treasuries mixed, JGB yields higher across tenors. Crude blends lower, precious metals lower, base metals mixed.
Asia equities buoyed by the positive close on Wall Street overnight although commentary questioned the depth of the US rally after retail involvement surged to a record high. US futures lower for the moment with the S&P just 3% away from a fresh record. In regional developments, China cut its benchmark LPR lending rates for the first time since last October while major state banks also lowered deposit rates by 5-25 bps. China's banks underperformed over the day while consumer discretionary stocks outperformed. Separately, CATL stock debuted in Hong Kong and closed 16% higher.
The RBA cut its cash rate by 25 bp as expected but its accompanying statement leaned dovish. Japan's government bond yields surged after a disappointing 20Y bond auction on concerns over the potential deceleration in the BOJ's bond purchase program. Bloomberg reported India is discussing a three-tranche trade deal with the US with a preliminary agreement in place by July. Vietnam and South Korea also announced further rounds of talks with Washington were underway.
Toyota Industries (6201.JP) is planning to accept a takeover offer from Toyota Motor (7203.JP). Nippon Steel (5401.JP) has pledged $14B of investment into US Steel (X) to salvage its acquisition. Seven & i (3382.JP) is considering selling an almost 10% stake to in Seven Bank (8410.JP) to Itochu (8001.JP). CATL (3750.HK) stock closed 16% higher in Hong Kong in its trading debut; its Shanghai listing closed more than 1% higher.
Digest:
China LPRs cut by 10 bp as expected, banks lower deposit rates:
China LPRs were lowered by 10 bp, matching expectations with 1-year at 3.00% and 5-year at 3.50%, marking the first decrease since October. Follows broad easing announcements from PBOC Governor Pan earlier this month including a 10 bp cut to the 7-day reverse repo rate and a 25 bp RRR cut while projecting LPRs would likely fall by 10 bp. Policymakers were seen to have preserved policy bullets until US tariff risks materialized. Latest action was presaged by deposit rate cuts among banks to alleviate NIM compression (Bloomberg). Several major banks' advertised fixed deposit rates were 15 bp lower in one and two-year, and 25 bp lower in three and five-year. Recall latest credit data for April were well below expectations as tariff concerns added to property market weakness and local government debt overhang, while also partly distorted by local government debt swaps. Complexion has shifted notably since the US-China tariff truce earlier this month, supporting sentiment over the 90-day timeframe. Economists flagged better growth prospects in Q2 owing to another phase of export front-loading, albeit outlook thereafter remains uncertain depending on the outcome of negotiations. Latest BofA FMS showed China pessimism eased notably ahead of the Geneva talks, opening up the potential for further improvement in country allocations this month.
RBA cuts cash rate, sees considerable uncertainties arising from tariffs:
RBA cut cash rate by 25 bp to 3.85% as expected. Governor Bullock said board debated 25 bp or 50 bp cut but did not see strong case for bigger reduction. Statement noted board focused on delivering price stability and full employment against backdrop of considerable uncertainty that has contributed to weaker outlook for Australia. Economic forecasts made slight downward revisions to trimmed mean inflation, with board now judging inflation risks as more balanced. Anticipates disinflationary impact of slower GDP growth to outweigh temporary inflationary effect of tariffs. Board considered severe downside scenario where tariffs lead to protracted trade war, causing domestic demand shock. Noted policy well placed to respond decisively to this outcome. Also weighed 'trade peace' scenario that leads reemergence of concerns in February (excess labor market demand), requiring less accommodative policy. Future rate cuts will depend on which trade scenarios play out. Unemployment rate projections nudged higher as firms respond to weaker demand. Pickup in household consumption slower than assumed in February as households react more cautiously to global developments, contributing to slower recovery in GDP growth. Trade tensions also expected to reduce demand for Australian exports under baseline scenario.
CATL jumps on trading debut in Hong Kong after world's biggest listing YTD:
Chinese battery maker CATL (3750.HK, 300750.CH) rose nearly 17% above subscription price on Tuesday in its trading debut in Hong Kong after company raised HK35.7B($4.6B) in the world's biggest listing YTD as investors bet on its ability to ride boom in EVs (Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC). Came after institutional tranche was oversubscribed 15.2 times and retail portion was 151 times oversubscribed while analysts said its Hong Kong stock has much room to rise given priced at 17X P/E. Added investors attracted to prospects of owning blue-chip stock as industry leader in battery technology, outweighing Pentagon blacklisting, US congressional scrutiny and US-China trade war (Bloomberg). Press also highlighted listing's significance to Hong Kong as it single-handedly doubled city's listing proceeds this year ($7.73B YTD versus $1.05B same time in 2024) and could encourage others to follow suit. HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan said more than 40 mainland-listed firms are exploring Hong Kong offerings.
JGB yields spike again after 20Y auction disappoints:
Japan government bond yields spiked sharply Tuesday following weakest demand in 12 years at today's auction described by government as 'unsuccessful' (Nikkei). 10y yield at 1.52% - highest since 2-April; 20Y yield at 25-year high 2.56%; 30Y yield at record high 3.14% in late afternoon trades. 40Y note also rose ahead of auction next week. Bloomberg noted bid-to-cover ratio for 20Y bond sale today, regarded as gauge of investor appetite, fell to lowest since Aug-22. Demand faltering on concerns over BOJ's scaling back bond purchases as domestic insurance companies scale back purchases despite increased overseas purchases of long-dated bonds. PM Ishiba added to stress after telling parliament country's finances now "worse than Greece's". Increased JGB volatility blamed partly on downgrade to US debt downgrade late last week that could impact Japan's policy debate as government considers tax cuts and stimulus to cushion blow from tariffs. BOJ bond hearings continue tomorrow to include insurers.
India discussing multi-tranche trade deal with US, interim agreement expected before July:
Bloomberg cited Indian officials familiar with the matter who said country is discussing multi-tranche trade deal with US, with interim agreement expected before July when reciprocal tariff pause expires. Interim deal likely to include agreement on areas such as market access for industrial goods and farm products. Also likely to cover non-tariff barriers such quality control orders (QCOs), which have been a sticking point in negotiations. Second stage of deal may be broader and more detailed with September-November timeframe. Final tranche likely to comprehensive agreement next year following Congressional approval. Comes as White House has repeatedly been touting prospects of imminent trade deal announcements with NEC Director Hassett claiming Monday that 15 countries are close to agreement. Trump has also been sounding bullish on India, claiming it has offered to reduce tariffs to zero (Reuters). Still reports have highlighted how countries such as India adopting more assertive stance in talks with US following recent US-China truce (Bloomberg). India has also threatened retaliation against some US goods in response to steel and aluminum tariffs (Reuters).
Notable Gainers:
+16.4% 3750.HK (Contemporary Amperex Technology): H-shares open +12.5% in Hong Kong trading debut
+12.6% 4023.JP (Kureha): guides interim dividend ¥108/share and final dividend ¥108/share for FY25
+9.5% 8410.JP (Seven Bank): reportedly planning to sell portion of its stake in Seven Bank to Itochu
+8.6% 6201.JP (Toyota Industries): reportedly plans to accept takeover offer by Toyota Motor and Akio Toyoda's special purpose company
+1.4% 4208.JP (Ube): to list subsidiary UBE MACHINERY on Tokyo Stock Exchange; formulates vision 2030 2nd stage; guides FY26 net income attributable ¥30.0B vs FactSet ¥30.39B
+0.8% 068270.KS (Celltrion): launches KRW100.00B buyback, to run from 21-May through 20-Aug
Notable Decliners:
-5.2% 241.HK (Alibaba Health Information Technology): reports FY adjusted net income CNY1.95B vs StreetAccount CNY1.98B
-4.3% 271560.KS (ORION Corp (Korea)): reports April net revenue KRW264.6B
-3.0% 9508.JP (Kyushu Electric Power): updates management vision 2030; issues strategic vision 2035
-0.7% 5401.JP (NIPPON STEEL): reportedly sets plans to invest around $14B in U.S. Steel's operations, incl. potential $4B towards new steel mill
-0.1% 9863.HK (Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology): reports Q1 net income attributable (CNY130M) vs year-ago (CNY1.01B)
Data:
Economic:
No economic data today
Markets:
Nikkei: 30.86 or +0.08% to 37529.49
Hang Seng: 348.76 or +1.49% to 23681.48
Shanghai Composite: 12.90 or +0.38% to 3380.48
Shenzhen Composite: 16.78 or +0.84% to 2009.92
ASX200: 48.20 or +0.58% to 8343.30
KOSPI: (1.62) or (0.06%) to 2601.80
SENSEX: (607.41) or (0.74%) to 81452.01
Currencies:
$-¥: (0.57) or (0.39%) to 144.2870
$-KRW: +3.61 or +0.26% to 1393.1500
A$-$: (0.00) or (0.59%) to 0.6419
$-INR: +0.17 or +0.20% to 85.5308
$-CNY: +0.01 or +0.07% to 7.2200
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