Economic Data
(KR) SOUTH KOREA Q1 PRELIM GDP Q/Q: 0.9% V 0.7%E; Y/Y: 1.5% V 1.4%E
(JP) Japan investors sold net ¥862.6B in Foreign Bonds last week vs sold net ¥331.9B prior week (sellers for 6 consecutive weeks); Foreign Investors sold net ¥27.9B in Japan stocks last week vs bought net ¥1.57T in prior week
(PH) PHILIPPINES FEB TRADE BALANCE: -$967M V -$714M PRIOR
(VN) Vietnam April Trade Balance: -$1B vs. -$546M prior
(VN) Vietnam April Industrial Production Y/Y: 5.8%
Markets Snapshot (as of 03:30 GMT)
Nikkei225 +0.1%
S&P/ASX closed
Kospi +0.5%
Shanghai Composite +0.2%
Hang Seng +0.8%
Jun S&P500 +0.1% at 1,575
Jun gold +1.4% at $1,444/oz
Jun Crude Oil +0.6% at $91.93/brl
Observations/Insights
Asian bourses were mixed performance due to a lack of clear drivers following a lackluster performance from the US markets, and disappointing durable goods data. The South Korean economy grew at its fastest pace in two years reporting a preliminary Q1 GDP of 0.9% higher than the 0.7% expected. Liquidity was also thinned by holiday market closures in Australia and New Zealand, while Japan braced for more earnings from automakers after underwhelming results from Canon and Nintendo overnight.
Currencies/Fixed Income/Commodities
(CN) China PBoC offers CNY18B in 28-day repos at 2.75% (drains liquidity)
GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall by 4.2 tons to 1,093.0 ton (lowest since 1,086.5 in Sept of 2009)
SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings fall to 10,318 from 10,451 tons, lowest since Jan 15th
JGB: (JP) Japan MoF sells ¥2.67T in 0.1% 2-yr notes, Avg Yield: 0.126% v 0.06% prior; bid to cover: 5.27x v 5.48x prior
USD was offered across the board in early Asian hours as traders heeded the disappointing results in the forward-looking US durable goods orders. EUR/USD rose above $1.3050, AUD/USD topped $1.0320, and NZD/USD gained the $0.85 handle - up about 40-50 pips across the board. USD/JPY was also subdued despite the comments from PM Abe indicating he may disregard BOJ issuance cap. Precious metals followed weaker greenback, with silver up 2% and gold up 1.5% in electronic trade above $23.40 and $1,445 respectively.
Speakers/Political/In the Papers
(JP) Japan PM Abe: not necessary to stick to ¥44T bond issuance cap - addressing parliament
(JP) US Trade office gives Congress 90-day notice starting TPP free-trade discussions with Japan - financial press
(CN) China urbanization rate to reach 70% in 2030 - Chinese press citing research from China Construction Investment Capital Research Institute and Social Science Academic Press
(CN) China MOF: has allocated CNY303.0M special funds to support bird flu monitoring
(CN) China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) may issue detailed urbanization scheme in H1 - financial press
(CN) China PBoC plans rules on bond substitute holding - financial press
(CN) Moody: China March property prices grow and have strong sales
(KR) South Korea Unification Ministry: offers further talk to North Korea about Kaesong - financial press
(KR) Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI): About half of South Korea's companies in China saw operating profits decline in 2012 - Korean press
(TH) Thailand may impose bond measures to curb THB; follow up - Thailand Fin Min: Not aware of plans to control inflows into the Bonds markets - financial press
(GR) Greece said to be seeking war reparations from Germany; Local press indicating amount demanded may be close to €162B - financial press
(ES) Moody releases annual sovereign report on Spain
Equities
AKAM: Reports Q1 $0.51 v $0.47e, R$368M v $361Me; +17.7% afterhours
XLNX: Reports Q4 $0.47 v $0.45e, R$532.2M v $530Me; +1.4% afterhours
TEX: Reports Q1 $0.23 (adj) v $0.29e, R$1.723B v $1.82Be; -1.8% afterhours
QCOM: Reports Q2 $1.17 v $1.16e, R$6.12B v $6.01Be; -5.8% afterhours
PCS: Reports Q1 $0.06 (adj) v $0.11e, R$1.28B v $1.28Be; +1.1% afterhours
CLF: Reports Q1 $0.60 (adj) v $0.32e, R$1.14B v $1.23Be; +4.3% afterhours
WDC: Reports Q3 $2.10 v $1.79e, R$3.76B v $3.59Be; +4.0% afterhours
AFL: Reports Q1 $1.90 v $1.62e, R$6.21B v $6.18Be; -1.3% afterhours
ZNGA: Reports Q1 $0.00 v -$0.04e, R$264M v $221Me; -8.9% afterhours
FFIV: Reports Q2 $1.07 v $1.09e, R$350M v $364Me; +0.2% afterhours
TSCO: Reports Q1 $0.62 v $0.62e, R$1.09B v $1.10Be; -4.5% afterhours
BYI: Reports Q3 $0.93 v $0.85e, R$259M v $244Me; +6.4% afterhours
VALE5.BR: Reports Q1 net $3.11B v $2.7Be, R$10.94B v $11.5Be; Adj EBITDA $4.16B v $4.9Be
VOD.UK: Verizon may be putting together a $100B offer to buy out Verizon Wireless' stake from Vodafone; expected to be half cash other half in stock - financial press
Kawasaki Heavy 7012.JP: Reports FY12/13 Net ¥30.9B v ¥31Be, Op Profit ¥42.1B v ¥42Be, Rev ¥1.29T v ¥1.30Te
TOEZ.JP: (JP) Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) planning new stock index as early as this year - Japanese press
Daihatsu Motors 7262.JP: Reports FY12/13 Net ¥81.4B v ¥79Be, Op Profit ¥133.0B v ¥134Be, Rev ¥1.76T v ¥1.74Te