Economic Data
(SL) S&P LOWERS SLOVENIA CREDIT RATING ONE NOTCH TO A- FROM A; Revises outlook to stable from Watch Negative
(AU) AUSTRALIA FEB WESTPAC CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX: 108.3 V 100.6 PRIOR (26-month high); M/M: 7.7% V 0.6% PRIOR (17-month high)
(JP) JAPAN JAN DOMESTIC CGPI M/M: 0.4% V 0.2%E; Y/Y: -0.2% V -0.3%E (smallest decline in 10 months)
(JP) JAPAN DEC TERTIARY INDUSTRY INDEX: 1.4% V 0.7%E (1-year high)
(KR) SOUTH KOREA DEC L MONEY SUPPLY Y/Y: 0.2% V 0.2% PRIOR; M2 Y/Y: 0.1% V 0.2% PRIOR
(KR) SOUTH KOREA JAN BANK LENDING TO HOUSEHOLDS (KRW): 463.1T V 466.5T PRIOR
(KR) SOUTH KOREA JAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 3.2% V 3.0%E
(KR) SOUTH KOREA JAN EXPORT PRICE INDEX M/M: -0.1% V -0.7% PRIOR; Y/Y: -8.1% V -7.2% PRIOR; IMPORT PRICE INDEX M/M: -0.8% V -1.0% PRIOR; Y/Y: -10.6% V -9.0% PRIOR
Markets Snapshot (as of 05:00 GMT)
Nikkei225 -0.9%
S&P/ASX +0.9%
Kospi +1.4%
Shanghai Composite closed
Hang Seng closed
Mar S&P500 +0.1% at 1,518
Apr gold +0.2% at $1,652/oz
Mar Crude Oil +0.1% at $97.62/brl
Notes/Observations
President Obama at the State of the Union Address calls for higher minimum wages, resolution to sequester, FTA with Europe, and energy independence; no mention of Keystone pipeline.
AUD rises over 50pips to $1.0360 on 26-month high in Feb Westpac consumer confidence.
USD/JPY falls over 50pips below ¥92.90 ahead of BOJ policy decision tomorrow.
CBI cuts 2013 GDP as BOE quarterly inflation report looms.
S&P cuts Slovenia on higher-than-anticipated debt burden.
Currencies
USD/JPY: The pair touched session lows at 93.15 before stabilizing. Japan Vice Fin Min Nakao refused to comment on remarks by unnamed G7 official that sent USD/JPY sharply lower in US session. USD/JPY pair was stable at 93.40-50 levels throughout the Asian morning before slowly declining throughout U.S. Pres. Obama's State of the Union Address. Post State of the Union the USD saw broad weakness with the USD/JPY pair falling below the 93 handle, reaching a low of 92.82.
USD/SGD also continued it's descent reaching lows of 1.2373, note yesterday some platforms showed the USD/SGD pair touching the 1.2450 level.
USD/KRW remains subdued despite geopolitical tensions and the release of unemployment data for January. KRW strengthened against the USD reaching session lows of 1085.16, and remains in an extremely tight range with the high so far at 1088.
AUDUSD rose after Westpac Consumer confidence reached a 26-month high. AUD/USD rose 10pips on the release and steadily reached a session high of 1.0351.
Fixed Income/Commodities
(AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$600M in 5.5% 5-yr Bonds; avg yield: 3.5148%; bid-to-cover: 3.5x
JGB: Japan MoF sells ¥399.2B in 2.0% 40-yr bonds, bid to cover: 3.51x v 3.82x prior
(US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES CRUDE: -2.31M V +2.5ME (first draw in 6 weeks); GASOLINE: -800K V -0.5ME; DISTILLATE: -1.1M V -2ME; UTILIZATION: 85% V 85.2% W/W
Speakers/Political/In the Papers
(US) US President Obama: To raise min wage to $9/hr from $7.25/hr by 2015 - State of the Union address
(JP) Japan LDP Sec Gen Ishiba: Excessive JPY stength is being corrected - financial press
(AU) Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI): Expects RBA will be forced to cut rates again, cites weak business and consumer confidence - Australia press
(NZ) New Zealand Fin Min English: Outlook for New Zealand GDP close to that of Australia - financial press
(UK) Confederation of British Industry (CBI) releases quarterly economic forecasts: Cuts UK 2013 GDP forecast to 1.0% from 1.4% prior in Nov
Equities
JGC 1963.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥36.4B v ¥31.1B y/y, Op Profit ¥47.2B v ¥46.8B y/y, Rev ¥441.5B v ¥389.4B y/y
9983.JP Fast Retailing 9983.JP: To open its first Uniqlo store in Indonesia as early as this summer - financial press
CBA.AU: Reports H1 Net $3.78B v A$3.7Be, Rev A$9.00B v A$8.57B y/y
WOR.AU: Reports H1 Net A$155.1M v A$152M y/y, Rev A$4.41B v A$3.30B y/y
WU: Reports Q4 $0.42 v $0.35e, R$1.42B v $1.40Be; plans cost saving initiativies; -4.0% afterhours
RAX: Reports Q4 $0.19 v $0.21e, R$353M v $355Me; -9.6% afterhours
BWLD: Reports Q4 $0.89 v $0.95e, R$303.8M v $295Me; -4.7% afterhours