Economic Data
(PH) PHILIPPINES Q3 GDP Q/Q: 1.3% V 0.6%E; Y/Y: 7.1% V 5.4%E
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q3 CONSTRUCTION WORK DONE Q/Q: 1.7% V 2.0%E
(KR) SOUTH KOREA OCT CURRENT ACCOUNT: $5.8B V $5.9B PRIOR; GOODS BALANCE: $5.2B V $5.5B PRIOR
Markets Snapshot (as of 04:30 GMT)
Nikkei225 -0.8%
S&P/ASX -0.3%
Kospi -0.8%
Shanghai Composite -0.7%
Hang Seng -0.8%
Dec S&P500 -0.1% at 1,397
Dec gold -0.1% at $1,741/oz
Jan Crude Oil flat at $87.21/brl
Notes/Observations
Asian equity markets are in the red across the board tracking late session weakness in US indices, where comments from Senate Majority leader poured more cold water over any indication of progress in resolution regarding the US fiscal cliff. Sen Reid echoed comments from Sen Durbin over the weekend, noting only little progress had been made between the parties, calling for the two sides to get past the "happy talk." Earlier, OECD had reminded investors that failure by US lawmakers to achieve resolution before the end of the year risked a global recession.
Risk-off sentiment related to the US fiscal uncertainty boosted JPY and USD in the FX markets at the expense of the more "risky" currencies, as USD/JPY fell below ¥82 and EUR/JPY fell below ¥106 handles. AUD was somewhat resilient above $1.0450, as economic data on construction work saw private sector component holding up much better than the public sector, which showed a decline of 7.8%.
US Treasury released its semiannual currency report, once again opting not to label China a currency manipulator. The treasury acknowledged the yuan appreciated 9.7% in nominal and 12.6% in real terms vs USD since June 2010, but still saw CNY remaining "significantly undervalued" given China's "persistence of trade and current account surpluses and its exceedingly high foreign exchange reserves." In OTC markets, CNY once again hit its 1% ceiling, while Shanghai Composite opened below the critical 2,000 level - the lowest in over 3 years.
Currencies/Fixed Income/Commodities
GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings rise by 3.6 tons to 1,345.8 tons (record high)
(US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES CRUDE: +1.96M V +1ME (largest build in 4 weeks); GASOLINE: +2.3M V +1ME; DISTILLATE: +270K V +250KE
USD/CNY: PBoC said to be more tolerant regarding the appreciation of the yuan, as the central bank has intervened less in the fx market - Xinhua
USD/CNY: (CN) China's CNY currency (Yuan) hits the upper limit of its daily 1.0% range on OTC market at 6.2273
USD/KRW: (KR) South Korea Dep Fin Min: Can take more measures to curb fx volatility - financial press
(CN) China Iron and Steel Association (CISA): Sees China 2012 steel demand may rise 4.1% - Chinese press
(AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$600M in 2027 Bonds; avg yield: 3.5429%; bid-to-cover: 3.91x
JGB: 10-yr JGB yield falling to 9-year low 0.72%
Speakers/Political/In the Papers
(CN) China NDRC researcher Chen Dongqi: CPI levels to recover slightly in November and December; sees Q4 GDP growth of 7.8% - financial press
(CN) Beijing housing official: Beijing to continue property curbs - Chinese press
(CN) China CASS researcher Liu Yuhui: China is likely to adopt tight fiscal policy and loose monetary policy in 2013 - China Securities Journal
(CN) China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) official: China Q4 Industrial production may rise higher than Q3 - Chinese press
(AU) RBA's Ridout: High AUD is accelerating structural change; China set for solid growth.
(NZ) RBNZ Gov Wheeler: Central banks engaged in QE were out of other options
(KR) South Korea Fin Min Bahk: Economy to recover in 2013 and exceed potential growth rate in 2014 - Korean press
(GR) German Fin Min Schaeuble: Greece may gain additional options to reduce debt; could be offered lower rates on first loan
(US) Fed Evans (FOMC alternate, dove): Can do more to assure markets that monetary policy will stay appropriately accommodative; Fed should vow low rates until unemployment hits 6.5%
Equities
TM: US sales chief Lentz: Sees Nov US Sales on annualized rate at 14.8-15.2M new units; sees strong US, NY sales for Nov due to post-Hurricane replacement purchases - financial press
Canon 7751.JP: Planning a ¥100B reduction in consolidated inventory during calendar Q4 2012 - Nikkei
Japan Airlines 9201.JP: Sees 33% decline in Oct Japan-China flights - Kyodo News
Samsung Electronics 005930.KR: Plans to shift its focus to high-end laptops in 2013 and away from lower priced models - Korean press
LEI.AU: Awarded two contracts in Bowen Basin valued at approx A$220M - financial press
JBH.AU: Early session weakness attributed to press report the firm is interested in expansion into whitegoods and appliance markets
QAN.AU: CEO: 98% of shareholders support deal with Emirates - financial press
GMCR: Reports Q4 $0.64 (adj) v $0.48e, R$946.7M v $902Me; +21.6% afterhours
PVH: Reports Q3 $2.34 v $2.29e, R$1.64B v $1.64Be; +1.2% afterhours
GWRE: Guides Q2 -$0.01 to +0.03 v $0.07e, R$62.5-65.5M v $69.8Me - conf call; -10.2% afterhours
KCG: Virtu Financial emerging as the early front-runner to acquire Knight Capital in a deal valued just over $1B - US financial press; +2.0% afterhours