- Alcoa starts off earnings season
- Nikkei 225, Asian bourses higher
- China inflation softer than expected Economic Data
- (CN) CHINA MAR CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) Y/Y: 2.1% V 2.5%E; -0.9% M/M
- (CN) CHINA MAR PRODUCER PRICE INDEX (PPI) Y/Y: -1.9% V -1.9%E; 0.0% M/M
- (JP) BANK OF JAPAN (BOJ) RELEASES MINUTES FROM MAR 6-7TH MEETING
- (AU) AUSTRALIA MAR NAB BUSINESS CONDITIONS: -7 V -3 PRIOR (lowest reading in nearly four years); NAB BUSINESS CONFIDENCE: 2 V 1 PRIOR
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q1 NZIER BUSINESS OPINION: 23 V 20 PRIOR
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND MAR QV HOUSE PRICES Y/Y: 6.5% V 6.3% PRIOR
- (UK) UK MAR BRC SHOP PRICE INDEX Y/Y: 1.9% V 1.0%E
- (UK) UK MAR RICS HOUSE PRICE BALANCE: -1% V -5%E
- (US) Mar NFIB Small Business Optimism: 89.5 v 92.5 y/y
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA MAR DEPTARTMENT STORE SALES Y/Y: +5.9% V +1.7% PRIOR (highest reading since Nov 2012)
- Nikkei225 +0.5%
- S&P/ASX +1.3%
- Kospi -0.5%
- Shanghai Composite +0.4%
- Hang Seng +0.8%
- June S&P500 +0.6% at 1,563
- Jun gold +0.2% at $1,574/oz
- May Crude Oil +0.2% at $93.58/brl
- (CN) China Iron and Steel Agency (CISA): Sees China iron ore prices to fall on oversupply
- (CN) China Suzhou plans to increase natural gas price +12.7% - financial press
- (ID) Indonesia sold $1.5B in 10-yr Bonds, avg yield 3.50%; $1.5B in 30-yr Bonds, avg yield 4.75% - financial press
- (JP) Japan, US agreed to TPP-free trade preliminary arrangements - financial press
- (JP) Japan Fin Min Aso reiterates BOJ easing targets at beating inflation; Excessive JPY strength being corrected - financial press
- (CN) Shanghai may increase down payment requirement for second homes - Chinese press
- (CN) Beijing existing home transactions decline 68% w/w - Chinese press
- (CN) China Vice Commerce Min Wang: China imports to total $10T over next five years - Chinese press
- Asia Development Bank (ADB) released Asian Development Outlook: Sees China GDP Growing 8.2% in 2013, 8.0% in 201
- (PT) S&P: Portugal constitutional court ruling on 2013 budget could be adverse for creditworthiness, but it has no immediate effect on our sovereign ratings
- (NZ) Fitch: New Zealand major banks face risks from competition and asset growth
- (US) US Fed Bernanke: Economy still far from desired performance level; banks need to better manage liquidity risks
- AA: Reports Q1 $0.11 v $0.09e, R$5.83B v $5.86Be; -1.4% afterhours
- TTEK: Reaffirms Q2 at $0.38-0.42 v $0.41e, R$500-550M v $534Me; Anticipates Eastern Canadian Weakness in Second Half; -3.4% afterhours
- JCP: Confirms Johnson "is stepping down and leaving" as CEO; Board names former CEO Ullman as his replacement; -6.2% afterhours
- CXW: Board declared special dividend of approx $6.63/shr (17.4% indicated yield); +4.6% afterhours
- GCAP: FXCM proposes Acquisition of Gain Capital; deal valued at $210.4M or $5.35/Gain shr (25% premium to today's close)
- DIC Corp 4631.JP: May reports FY12/13 Net ¥19B v ¥20B prior guidance, Op profit ¥38.5B v ¥38.0B prior guidance, Rev ¥700B v ¥700B prior guidance - Nikkei News
- TEN.AU: Reports H1 Net loss A$243.3M v A$+14.8M y/y, Rev A$336.9M, -21.9% y/y
(as of 03:30 GMT)
The Asian bourses were mostly higher following the positive start to the US financial market as investors focused on the start of the first quarter earnings season. The Japanese Nikkei225 continued its positive streak reaching multi-year highs in early trading. Earlier in the session, the JPY weakened against the USD to a four-year low of ¥99.68, with investors eyeing the psychological level of ¥100.
Chinese equity markets have rebounded on today's session, as softer than expected inflation data, offset the recent concerns about bird flu and property curbs. Chinese March inflation data came in better than expected, easing considerably from the 10-month high registered in the prior month of February. The food component of the index was notably lower at 2.7% compared to the 6.0% last month. The Shanghai Composite was up just over 0.4% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.8%.
Fixed Income/Commodities