Aug 27 ,2025
Synopsis:
Asian equities ended mixed Wednesday. Some steep losses in Greater China as Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hong Kong's main boards all fell by more than 1%. Japan's boards were mixed with the Nikkei higher but Topix flat. Small gains in Australia, South Korea and Taiwan. Southeast Asia mostly higher. India closed for a holiday. US futures slightly higher, Europe opened mixed as French stocks bounced back modestly but Germany was lower. US dollar rallying, euro losing more ground, NZD lower in Asia while yuan reversing from nine-month highs earlier. Treasuries higher across tenors, JGBs also nudging higher. Crude and precious metals flat, base metals selling off.
Asia equities in a directionless session ahead of Nvidia's potentially pivotal results later Wednesday. Investors also waiting further developments in President Trump's move to oust Fed Governor Cook as well as a no-confidence vote against France's government that could have implications for European debt and currency markets. Greater China markets sold off steeply in afternoon trade just as turnover reached its second highest level on record. No discernable cause for the reverse other than profit taking following a strong months-long rally.
In data releases, China's industrial profits declined at a slower pace in July vis-à-vis June as chip-related profits gained ground and price wars in several consumer sectors eased. Australia July consumer inflation rose above expectations and June's level to 2.8% as electricity prices rose sharply. Taiwan consumer confidence weakened further to its weakest point in more than two years. Indonesia secured a tariff exemption on several commodity exports including palm oil and rubber. In other trade-related news, India's 50% tariff rate began after the two countries failed to reach a deal while several more South Korean investments into the US were announced.
EssilorLuxottica (EL.PA) is said to be considering raising its stake in Nikon Corp (7731.JP) to around 20%; Nikon shares sharply higher. Renova (9519. JP) traded higher on speculation it could be bidding for Mitsubishi's Corp (8058.JP) and Chubu Electric's (9502.JP) wind farm projects. Cambricon Technologies (688256.CH) posted H1 profits of CNY1.03B from a sharp increase in revenue of CNY2.9B. JD.com's (8618.HK) property investment unit along with Partners Group and EZA hill Property plan to launch a Singapore-based REIT with assets of more than $1B, according to a Reuters report. Hanwha Ocean (042660.KS) said it will invest an additional $5B in its newly acquired US shipyard and aims to build 20 vessels per year from the current fewer than two.
Digest:
Cook to challenge her dismissal as White House eyes more influence on Fed:
President Trump's decision to fire Fed Governor Cook continues to lead press discussions. As expected, Cook to challenge her dismissal by filing lawsuit, kicking off what legal experts say could be lengthy process that ends up in Supreme Court (CNBC, Reuters). Trump suggested he could choose top White House economist, Stephen Miran, to fill her role while nominating another to temporarily assume position vacated by former Governor Kugler, whose term was scheduled to end in January. Media sources note former World Bank Group President David Malpass being discussed for that role. Recall Miran was originally nominated to fill Kugler's seat. Several articles discussed possible market implications from erosion of Fed's independence, resulting in steeper yield curve as markets embed higher term premia amid rise in inflation breakeven rates (Reuters, Bloomberg, Reuters). If Cook is ousted, it would hand Trump four-seat majority of appointees to board of governors. Bloomberg sources noted Trump administration mulling ways to exert more influence over Fed's 12 regional banks with next slate of presidents to be authorized by board of governors in February.
Australia monthly inflation spikes amid unwinding of energy bill subsidies:
Australia July headline inflation rose to 2.8% y/y from 1.9% in June, above consensus 2.3% and highest since Jul-2024. Trimmed mean inflation rose to 2.7% from 2.1%, highest since Apr-2025. Headline result skewed by unwinding of energy bill subsidies with electricity inflation up 13.1% vs June's 6.3% fall. Volatile categories such as holiday travel also contributed to July's inflation spike, reflecting travel over school holidays. Stickier components were more stable with rent inflation moderating further while health, education and insurance categories were little changed. Data elicited mildly hawkish reaction as markets trimmed September rate cut odds to less than 30% from 37% prior to data. Still, monthly CPI's limitations have long limited its importance as a policy input with RBA putting greater emphasis on more comprehensive quarterly series. August RBA minutes leaned dovish with members seeing likely need for further easing over coming year to preserve full employment. Central bank meets in late September though is expected to hold with economists eyeing next rate cut in November.
China corporate profit declines ease:
Industrial profits fell 1.5% y/y in July, moderating from a 4.3% drop in the previous month. YTD aggregate declines eased marginally to 1.7% from 1.8%. NBS continued to cite general policy support and did not mention any new factors. Highlight was manufacturing sector, where profits accelerated 5.4 ppt to 6.8%, contributing 3.6 ppt to the headline. Improvements were skewed to upstream sectors, swinging to 36.9% growth from a 5.0% decline, reflecting upturns in steel and petroleum processing. Among downstream sectors, consumer goods makers saw declines narrowing 3.0 ppt to 4.7%, while high-tech logged 18.9% growth reversing a 0.9% slide in June. Notably, segments tied to semiconductors -- integrated circuits and chip-making equipment -- saw triple-digit growth. Government trade-in subsidies for corporate large-scale equipment and consumer goods remained key tailwinds. No discussion of margins despite ongoing deflation and overcapacity themes. Recall disappointing July round of activity data reinforced expectations of an H2 slowdown in GDP growth following H1 resilience propped up by temporary factors such as front-loaded exports and government bond issuance.
Cambricon Technologies swings to profit as revenue surges on AI chip demand:
Cambricon Technologies (688256.CH) scaling record highs, having doubled share price in two weeks. Company swung to profit of CNY1.04B ($144M) in H1 from loss of CNY530M a year earlier, on revenue of CNY2.88B vs year-ago CNY64.8M. Sell-side takeaways positive on sequential revenue growth momentum, reflecting ramp in AI chip output. Big increase in company's contact liability illustrative of strong order book supporting future revenue growth. Continued AI chip optimization seen increasing competitiveness in training and inferencing models, while group has expanded software support for DeepSeek, Qwen and Hunyuan models. Company positioning to benefit from Beijing's push to develop domestic chip ecosystem, as local customers look to diversify supply amid US trade tensions and heightened regulatory scrutiny on foreign-made chips. DeepSeek announcement that V3.1 model was optimized for locally made chips was cited as a rally catalyst for Cambricon. Berstein noted Cambricon only has 2-3% of the market, providing significant room to expand share with company considered best alternative to Huawei. At same time, Cambricon's high valuation tied into bubble concerns while competitive pressures from Nvidia and domestic market entrants seen as downside risk.
Japan debt servicing costs stand to balloon on higher assumed interest:
In a front-page story, Nikkei reported the government will propose budgeting a record JPY32.38T ($220B) in debt servicing expenses for FY26 driven by higher interest rates. Figure would represent a 15% increase from FY25, topping JPY30T for the first time, posing a constraint against spending flexibility in other areas. FY26 initial budget requests expected to surpass JPY120T for the first time, highlighted by record proposals of JPY34.79T from MHLW for social welfare and JPY8.8T from the Defense Ministry. Interest payments alone set to jump 24% to JPY13.04T after assumed interest rate was raised to 2.6% from 2% in FY25. Calculations involve trends in long yields with an added buffer margin. Benchmark 10y yield touched 1.62% Tuesday, repeatedly pushing into fresh 17-year highs. Structural/organic debt growth adds to bond market expectations for BOJ rate hikes and concerns about degradation of fiscal discipline amid political pressure for stimulus. Article noted lone consolation is an expected decline in debt-to-GDP ratio given nominal GDP is growing.
Notable Gainers:
+20.7% 7731.JP (Nikon Corp): EssilorLuxottica reportedly weighing raising its stake to around 20%
+6.1% 4519.JP (Chugai Pharmaceutical): Eli Lilly announced topline results from Phase 3 ATTAIN-2 trial evaluating orforglipron
+5.7% 9519.JP (Renova): speculation of bidding for wind farm projects following report of Mitsubishi, Chubu Electric Power's withdrawal
+3.5% 300308.CH (Zhongji Innolight): reports H1 net income attributable CNY4B, +11% vs guidance CNY3.6B
+2.9% 042660.KS (Hanwha Ocean): Canadian government announces ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and Hanwha Ocean as the 2 qualified suppliers for the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project
+1.9% 1112.HK (Health & Happiness (H&H) International Holdings): reports H1 adjusted EBITDA CNY1.10B, (3%) vs year-ago CNY1.14B
Notable Decliners:
-8.5% 1958.HK (BAIC Motor): reports H1 revenue CNY82.40B, (13%) vs year-ago CNY94.32B, operating profit CNY6.20B, (42%) vs year-ago CNY10.75B
-2.0% 2318.HK (Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China): reports H1 OPAT CNY77.73B vs StreetAccount CNY76.55B
Data:
Economic:
China
Jan-Jul 2025 industrial profits (1.7%) y/y vs (1.8%) in Jan-June
July industrial profits (1.5%) y/y vs (4.3%) in prior month
Australia
July CPI +2.8% y/y vs consensus +2.3% and +1.9% in June
Trimmed mean CPI +2.7% y/y vs +2.1% in June
Q2 construction work done +3.0% q/q vs consensus +1.0% and 0.0% in Q1
Markets:
Nikkei: 125.87 or +0.30% to 42520.27
Hang Seng: (323.16) or (1.27%) to 25201.76
Shanghai Composite: (68.03) or (1.76%) to 3800.35
Shenzhen Composite: (46.52) or (1.91%) to 2394.27
ASX200: 24.90 or +0.28% to 8960.50
KOSPI: 7.80 or +0.25% to 3187.16
SENSEX: Closed
Currencies:
$-¥: +0.47 or +0.32% to 147.9000
$-KRW: +1.62 or +0.12% to 1396.6900
A$-$: (0.00) or (0.22%) to 0.6472
$-INR: +0.10 or +0.11% to 87.7530
$-CNY: +0.01 or +0.11% to 7.1606
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