Asian Market Update: Upbeat RBNZ Sends NZD Higher, JPY Off The Lows

Upbeat RBNZ sends NZD higher; JPY off the lows on little indication of more policy easing through foreign bond buys

Economic Data

(NZ) RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND (RBNZ) LEAVES OFFICIAL CASH RATE UNCHANGED AT 2.50% (AS EXPECTED)

(NZ) NEW ZEALAND DEC M3 MONEY SUPPLY: 6.0% V 5.5% PRIOR

(AU) AUSTRALIA DEC PRIVATE SECTOR CREDIT M/M: 0.4% V 0.2%E; Y/Y: 3.6%V 3.4%E

(AU) AUSTRALIA Q4 EXPORT PRICE INDEX Q/Q: -2.4% V -1.5%E; IMPORT PRICE INDEX Q/Q: 0.3% V 0.4%E

(AU) AUSTRALIA DEC HIA NEW HOME SALES M/M: 6.2% V 3.0% PRIOR (8-month high)

(JP) JAPAN DEC ANNUALIZED HOUSING STARTS: 880K V 895KE; Y/Y: 10.0% V 13.5%E; CONSTRUCTION ORDERS Y/Y: +4.8% V -2.1% PRIOR (first rise in three months)

(JP) JAPAN DEC VEHICLE PRODUCTION Y/Y: -17.2% V -8.4% PRIOR

(JP) JAPAN DEC LABOR CASH EARNINGS Y/Y: -1.4% V -0.8% PRIOR (5-month low)

(JP) JAPAN DEC LOANS & DISCOUNTS CORP M/M: 1.0% V 0.4% PRIOR

(JP) JAPAN DEC PRELIM INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 2.5% V 4.1%E; Y/Y: -7.8% V -5.6%E

(JP) JAPAN JAN MARKIT/JMMA MANUFACTURING PMI: 47.7 V 45.0 PRIOR (first rise in four months)

(SG) SINGAPORE DEC CREDIT CARD BAD DEBTS (S$): 19.1M V 20.0M PRIOR; BILLINGS: 3.69B V 3.41B PRIOR

(SG) SINGAPORE Q4 PRELIM UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 1.8% V 1.9%E

(SG) SINGAPORE DEC MONEY SUPPLY M1 Y/Y: 9.0% V 5.3% PRIOR; M2: 7.2% V 6.2% PRIOR; BANK LOANS & ADVANCES Y/Y:16.7% V 15.9% PRIOR

(PH) PHILIPPINES Q4 GDP Q/Q: 1.5% V 1.2%E; Y/Y: 6.8% V 6.3%; 2012 GDP Y/Y: 6.6% V 6.4%E

(TW) TAIWAN Q4 PRELIM GDP Q/Q: 3.4% V 3.0%E

(UK) UK GFK DEC CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: -26 V -28E

Markets Snapshot (as of 05:30 GMT)

Nikkei225 -0.7%

S&P/ASX -0.4%

Kospi -0.5%

Shanghai Composite -0.1%

Hang Seng -0.5%

Mar S&P500 -0.1% at 1,5

Feb gold +0.3% at $1,6/oz

Mar Crude Oil flat at $97.97/brl

Notes/Observations

RBNZ leaves cash target rate unchanged as expected; Seeks economic growth recovering domestically and globally; Monitoring against inflation in property market; NZD/USD rises over 60 pips above $0.8360.

JCER Pres / BoJ Gov-candidate Iwata: BoJ appointees should pledge to reach 2% inflation target by 2014; Can overcome deflation with monetary policy alone; May not have to purchase foreign bond; USD/JPY pulls back below ¥91 on no hints of foreign bond buying by the front-runner to replace BOJ.

Japan Vehicle production, industrial output for December still short of estimates despite weaker JPY.

Qualcomm beats and raises guidance; Facebook underwhelming on margins ans shortfall in mobile revenue component.

Currencies/Fixed Income/Commodities

NZD/USD: Rises over 50 pips above $0.8350 following the RBNZ rate hold and an upgrade on 2013 growth projections

JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.49T in 0.1% 2-yr notes, Avg Yield: 0.070% v 0.094% prior; bid to cover: 10.13x v 9.73x prior

Speakers/Political/In the Papers

(JP) Japan govt considering requesting exemptions in TPP trade agreement - Kyodo News

(JP) BoJ Dep Gov Yamaguchi: May increase asset purchases further if required; to continue to pursue monetary easing if needed; Strong chance Japan's CPI growth will reach 1% in FY14

(CN) Shanghai Jan land transactions rose 37.7% y/y to 355K sqm - Chinese press citing Soufun.com

(CN) China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC): May raise leverage ratio in new risk control rules on brokerages - Chinese press

Equities

FXJ.AU: Shareholder group of Mark Carnegie could increase 0.15% stake after Qantas stake sale - Australian press

WHC.AU: Reports Q1 coal production 2,367k tons +96% y/y, coals sales at 2,081k tons +46% y/y - financial press

ORI.AU: CEO: 2012 was not a stellar year; market conditions were volatile - financial press

WOW.AU: Reports H1 Rev A$30.7B v A$29.7B y/y; maintains FY guidance

LYC.AU: Alliances and contracts are in place for rare earth supply - financial press

JFE 5411.JP: May report 9-month pretax profit around ¥20-25B v ¥59.3B y/y; 3-year low for the period - Nikkei News

Ajinomoto 2802.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥54.5B v ¥42.0B y/y, Op Profit ¥60.9B v ¥66.9B y/y, Rev ¥891B v ¥914B y/y

Tokyo Gas 9531.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥64B v loss ¥1.1B y/y, Op Profit ¥99B v ¥7B y/y, Rev ¥1.34T v ¥1.17T y/y

Daihatsu Motor 7262.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥56.9B v ¥B y/y, Op Profit ¥93.5B v ¥B y/y, Rev ¥1.25T v ¥1.1T y/y

Kawasaki Heavy 7012.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥19.34B v ¥33.68B y/y, Op Profit ¥22.9B v ¥47.3B y/y, Rev ¥885.9B v ¥906.3B y/y

Daiichi Sankyo 4568.JP: Reports 9-month Net ¥51.5B v ¥17.5B y/y, Op Profit ¥93.5B v ¥91.9B y/y, Rev ¥746B v ¥696B y/y

FB: Reports Q4 $0.17 v $0.15e, R$1.59B v $1.53Be

QCOM: Reports Q1 $1.26 v $1.12e, R$6.0B v $5.87Be; raises outlook

EA: Reports Q3 $0.57 v $0.56e, R$1.18B v $1.29Be

COP: Reports Q4 $1.43 adj v $1.41e, R$16.4B v $12.0Be