Economic Data
(AU) RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA (RBA) LEAVES CASH TARGET RATE UNCHANGED AT 3.00%, AS EXPECTED
(AU) AUSTRALIA DEC TRADE BALANCE (A$): -427M V -800ME (smallest deficit in 6 months; 12th month of deficit)
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q4 HOUSE PRICE INDEX Q/Q: 1.6% V 0.3%E; Y/Y: 2.1% V 0.9%E
(AU) AUSTRALIA JAN AIG PERFORMANCE OF SERVICE INDEX: 45.3 V 43.2 PRIOR (12th month of contraction)
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q4 AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS Q/Q: -0.4% V +0.4%E; PRIVATE WAGES EX-OVERTIME Q/Q: 0.5% V 0.5%E; PRIVATE WAGES INCLUDING OVERTIME Q/Q: 0.6% V 0.5%E
(CN) CHINA JAN HSBC SERVICES PMI: 54.0 V 51.7 PRIOR (four-month high)
(KR) SOUTH KOREA JAN FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES: $328.9B V $327.0B PRIOR
(PH) PHILIPPINES JAN CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) M/M: 0.5% V 0.6%E (5-month high); Y/Y: 3.0% V 3.0%E (3-month high); CORE CPI Y/Y: 3.6% V 3.1%E
(HK) HONG KONG JAN PURCHASING MANAGERS INDEX (PMI): 52.5 V 51.7 PRIOR
(ID) INDONESIA Q4 GDP CONSTANT PRICE Q/Q: -1.4% V -1.3%E; Y/Y: 6.2% V 6.2%E; ANNUAL GDP 2012: 6.2% v 6.3%E
(IN) INDIA JAN MARKIT SERVICES PMI: 57.5 V 55.6 PRIOR (multi-month high)
(UK) UK JAN BRC SALES LFL Y/Y: 1.9% V 0.3% PRIOR (highest since Dec 2011)
Markets Snapshot (as of 05:00 GMT)
Nikkei225 -1.6%
S&P/ASX -0.4%
Kospi -0.7%
Shanghai Composite -0.4%
Hang Seng -1.7%
Mar S&P500 +0.1% at 1,495
Apr gold -0.1% at $1,675/oz
Mar Crude Oil -0.1% at $96.06/brl
Notes/Observations
RBA on hold at 3.00% as expected; Opens the door for more easing if conditions warrant, sending AUD/USD down over 50pips below $1.04
Australia Dec trade data shows narrowing deficit as higher iron ore prices send export component up 3% m/m and value of iron ore shipments up over 20% m/m
PBoC daily liquidity operation highest on record
10yr JGB auction seeing weak demand after warning form Government Pension Investment Fund overnight.
Yum shares fall to 1-year lows afterhours after forecasting 2013 EPS decline due to poultry quality crisis in China.
Currencies/Fixed Income/Commodities
(CN) China PBoC to offer CNY450B in 14-day reverse repos (largest one-day injection on record)
JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.18T in 0.8% 10-yr notes; Avg yield: 0.795% v 0.822% prior; Bid to cover: 2.75x v 3.52x prior
SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings fall to 10,420 tons from 10,425 tons prior
Speakers/Political/In the Papers
(CN) China National Bureau of Stats (NBS): China to widen PMI sample to better reflect manufacturing - financial press
(CN) China top four banks Jan new yuan loans seen around CNY370B - Chinese press
(CN) Analysts see China Jan CPI falling to 1.8% from 7-month high 2.5% in Dec as tighter food supply issues that exacerbated prior inflation data normalize - Shanghai Daily
(CN) China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC): 2012 crude oil consumption increase accelerated 4.9% to 476.1M tons from 3.3% increase in 2011 - Shanghai Daily
(JP) Japan PM Abe: BoJ will decide policy; govt accord will not undermine BoJ independence
(SG) Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Managing Director Menon: Need to avoid competitive devaluation and protectionist measures - financial press
(US) Goldman Chief Economist Hatzius: Fed will continue asset purchases in 2013, repeat of U.S. debt ceiling crisis looks likely, politics could boost European risk premium
Equities
Itochu 8001.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥208.1B v ¥218.9B y/y, Op Profit ¥164.2B v ¥208.8B y/y, Rev ¥9.27T v ¥8.83T y/y
Mitsubishi Mtoro 7211.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥17.3B v ¥13.6B y/y, Op Profit ¥40.9B v ¥38.5B y/y, Rev ¥1.28T v ¥1.29T y/y
Mitsui Chem 4183.JP: Reports 9-month Net loss ¥9.7B v loss ¥0.2B y/y, Op Profit ¥2.5B v ¥27.6B y/y, Rev ¥1.01T v ¥1.10T y/y
JX Holding 5020.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥91.9B v ¥158.8B y/y, Op Profit ¥135.0B v ¥234.5B y/y, Rev ¥8.05T v ¥7.79T y/y
COH.AU: Reports H1 Net A$77.7M v A$81Me, Rev A$391.7M v A$387.5M y/y
MQG.AU: Sees FY13 Net materially up y/y; FY13 results 10% above 2012 levels
QAN.AU: Does not plan to renew code-share agreement with British Airways - AFR
BA: Asks the FAA to allow 787 Dreamliner test flights, FAA likely to grant permission, could come as early as Monday evening - press
YUM: Reports Q4 $0.83 v $0.81e, R$4.15B v $4.13Be; cuts FY13 EPS guidance to "mid-single digit decline" vs. +10% prior guidance; -5.4% afterhours
BIDU: Reports Q4 $1.31 v $1.29e, R$1.02B v $939Me; -5.9% afterhours
HIG: Reports Q4 $0.54 v $0.29e, R$7.74B v $5.61Be; -0.7% afterhours