Australia Q4 CPI Undershoot Expectations, Calls For More RBA Easing

(AU) AUSTRALIA Q4 CONSUMER PRICES (CPI) Q/Q: 0.2% V 0.4%E (three-quarter low); Y/Y: 2.2% V 2.4%E; CPI TRIMMED MEAN Q/Q: 0.6% V 0.7%E; Y/Y: 2.3% V 2.4%E

(AU) AUSTRALIA NOV WESTPAC LEADING INDEX M/M: 0.6% V 0.1% PRIOR

(CN) CHINA DEC CONFERENCE BOARD LEADING ECONOMIC INDEX: 0.4% V 1.1% PRIOR

(JP) JAPAN CABINET OFFICE JAN MONTHLY REPORT: RAISES ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT (first upgrade in 8 months)

(JP) JAPAN JAN BOJ MONTHLY ECONOMIC REPORT: UPGRADES ASSESSMENT OF ECONOMY IN JANUARY (first upgrade since June 2012)

(KR) South Korea Dec Discount Store Sales y/y: -5.0% v -1.7% prior; Department Store Sales y/y: -0.2% v 9.1% prior

(SG) SINGAPORE DEC CPI M/M: 0.7% V 0.5%E; Y/Y: 4.3% V 3.8%E

Markets Snapshot (as of 05:00 GMT)
Nikkei225 -1.3%

S&P/ASX +0.4%

Kospi -0.2%

Shanghai Composite -0.4%

Hang Seng -0.2%

Mar S&P500 -0.1% at 1,487

Feb gold flat at $1,692/oz

Mar Crude Oil -0.1% at $96.57/brl

Notes/Observations
Asian equity markets are trading predominantly to the downside, as overnight BOJ disappointment that translated into JPY gains sent Nikkei225 down over 1% while Shanghai Composite ran into technical resistance near 2,330 after briefly testing its 7-month highs. South Korea and Taiwan indices fared slightly better but still saw a modest decline, particularly disappointing investors after strong earnings reports from US tech stalwarts.

Australia's S&P/ASX is the only index in the green, as softer than expected Q4 CPI boosted expectations of an RBA easing as early as its next meeting next month. AUD/USD fell over 30 pips to session lows below $1.0530 after Treasurer Swan said contained inflation allows RBA room to cut rates, noting that Q4 CPI data confirms inflation is under control.

In China, a local press report indicated Jan CPI may pull back below 2% from multi-month highs in December due to base effects and some leveling off in food prices. Conference Board leading index for December did rise at a slower pace, prompting the resident economist to speculate that China's late 2012 economic momentum may already be abating and will not bounce further in 2013.

Earlier in the session, BHP released its Q2 production report that saw iron ore output up 3% y/y, copper up 5%, and alumina up an impressive 23%. BHP also maintained its FY13 iron ore output target at 183M tons, but analysts were quick to point out that it would require H2 production to generate 55% of that total. Share of BHP were up 1.5% in Sydney trading.

Currencies/Fixed Income/Commodities
(JP) Goldman Sachs: Raises Japan's FY13 real GDP growth forecast to 2.0% from 1.2%; sees USD/JPY at ¥87 at end of 2013

AUD/USD: Falls to session lows below $1.0540 following comments from Treasurer Swan calling for more RBA cuts

USD/KRW: (KR) South Korea Fin Min Bahk: KRW volatility has risen since Q3; KRW appreciation has been steep

GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings rise by 3.3 tons to 1,335.9 tons (first rise since Jan 6th and 1-week high)

SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings fall to 10,689 tons from 10,735 tons (first decline since Jan 6th)

Speakers/Political/In the Papers
(CN) Analysts see China Jan CPI to fall below 2% y/y due to high base effect from 2012 and stable food prices - China press

(CN) China Bank of Communications (BoCom) analyst: PBoC may cut RRR twice in early 2013, moving by 50bps each time - Chinese press

(CN) Annual Mining Executive Insights report warning about potential China slowing - The Australian

(CN) China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT): 2012 Industrial production +10% y/y; may target 2013 industrial production growth at 10% - financial press

(CN) Shanghai to raise the threshold on its preferential 0.4% property tax to homes priced at CNY27.7K/sqm vs CNY26.9K/sqm prior - Shanghai Daily

(IN) India Fin Min Chidambaram: First goal to deal with deficit; FY13 deficit to remain below 5.3% - financial press

HSBC economist: India, Indonesia and Vietnam to be the biggest beneficiaries of new investment; Rising cost of labor and land in China has made it less attractive - Shanghai Daily

(JP) Japan PM Abe: Govt goal is to restore strong economy, to correct excessively strong JPY - financial press

(KR) Standard Chartered analyst sees South Korea 2013 GDP at 3.0% - Korean press

(IS) According to exit polls, Israel PM Netanyahu projected to win in today's national elections (as expected)

Equities
Samsung Electronics 005930.KR: May completely halt LCD TV production in H1; To convert existing lines into LED TV lines - Korean press

Ricoh 7752.JP: May report 9-month op profit -2% y/y around ¥13B - Japan press

TDK 6762.JP: May report Q3 operating profit -30% y/y around ¥5B; Rev seen +5% y/y at ¥200B - Nikkei

Nufarm NUF.AU: Affirms H1 EBIT at least 15% higher y/y; H1 trading conditions in Australia more challenging than expected; Affirms FY13 guidance

Boral BLD.AU: Guides H1 NPAT $53M vs A$35M prior target; To cut about 1K jobs, resulting in savings of A$90M

BIDU: According to KPMG, more China consumers are using the internet to buy luxury goods online - Shanghai Daily

GOOG: Reports Q4 $10.65 v $10.53e, R$11.34B v $12.4Be; +5.0% afterhours

TXN: Reports Q4 $0.36 (adj) v $0.34e, R$2.98B v $2.96Be; -0.2% afterhours

IBM: Reports Q4 $5.39 v $5.25e, R$29.3B v $29.2Be; +4.1% afterhours

AMD: Reports Q4 -$0.14 v -$0.20e, R$1.16B v $1.15Be; +1.6% afterhours

CREE: Reports Q2 $0.32 adj v $0.30e, R$346M v $331Me; +14.9% afterhours

NSC: Reports Q4 $1.30 v $1.19e, R$2.68B v $2.67Be; -0.1% afterhours

CSX: Reports Q4 $0.43 v $0.39e, R$2.88B v $2.85Be; +0.9% afterhours

ISRG: Reports Q4 $4.25 v $4.03e, R$609M v $585Me; +8.7% afterhours

NYT: According to sources with New York Magazine, Donald Trump is exploring a bid for New York Times - financial press

MAPP: To be acquired by Allergan at $25/shr or $958M