Economic Data
(AU) AUSTRALIA Q4 GDP Q/Q: 0.6% V 0.6%E; PRIOR; Y/Y: 3.1% V 2.9%E
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND Q4 VALUE OF ALL BUILDINGS Q/Q: 1.8% V 3.0%E
(KR) SOUTH KOREA FEB FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES: $327.4B V $328.9B PRIOR
(UK) UK FEB BRC SHOP PRICE INDEX Y/Y: 1.1% V 0.6% PRIOR
Markets Snapshot (as of 05:00 GMT)
Nikkei225 +1.8%
S&P/ASX +0.7%
Kospi +0.3%
Shanghai Composite +0.3%
Hang Seng +0.8%
Mar S&P500 flat at 1,538
Apr gold +0.1% at $1,578/oz
Apr Crude Oil +0.2% at $91.02/brl
Notes/Observations
President Hugo Chavez died; VP Maduro takes the reins until elections can be held within 30 days; WTI crude rises $0.50 above $91/brl despite high build in API inventories.
Australia Q4 GDP in line q/q, better than expected y/y; terms of trade fall -2.7% q/q, slower than -5.3% prior.
NDRC head Zhang confident in China economy over the long run, sees scope to increase domestic demand and infrastructure investment through urbanization.
AUD/USD hits $1.03 after Australia GDP and NDRC comments; terms of trade from Australia on tap for Thursay and from China on Friday.
China markets shrug PBoC Dep Gov Yi with hawkish comments, suggesting still open to drain more liquidity from FX inflows after a large drain after Lunar New Year.
Speakers/Political/In the Papers
(CN) PBoC Deputy Gov Yi Gang: Open to using market operations to drain liquidity from FX inflows; Yuan very close to equilibrium
(CN) China MOFCOM researcher: China should use property tax to curb speculation - Chinese press
(CN) According to Centaline, second-hand home prices in China's major 6 cities all saw an increase of over 1% in Feb - China Daily
(CN) NDRC head Zhang Ping: China's Q4 GDP of 7.8% should be viewed in positive light; Sees large scope to increase domestic demand and infrastructure investment - financial press
(CN) China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) Vice Chairman Cai Esheng: 2013 New Yuan Loans could be RMB8.5-9.0T
(AU) Australia Treasurer Swan: High AUD working against the impact of RBA rate cuts; Mining investment to remain historically high for some time
(NZ) New Zealand Employment Ministry: Forecasts unemployment 7.2% in Q1 2013, 6.5% in Q1 2014
(JP) Nikkei News noting 10-year bank mortgage rates may continue to fall below 1.3% record low seen last December - Nikkei News
(JP) Japan's Diet expected to approve nominees Kuroda, Iwata, and Nakaso for the BOJ - Kyodo
Currencies
USD was broadly weaker during a buoyant Asian session fueled by record breaking highs in Dow Industrials earlier in the day. Economic data was light with the major datapoint coming out of AUstralia. Q4 GDP came in roughly in line with expectations q/q but beat y/y and showed smaller decline in exports. AUDUSD rose about 10pips on the release to 1.0270 and extended those gains to $1.03 following NDRC commentary opening the door to more infrastructure investment. NZD/USD also rose for the 3rd straight session above $0.8330. South Korea Foreign Exchange Reserves came in as expected before the open of trade in Seoul and KRW was slightly stronger with the USDKRW pair slipping below the 1083 level. USDSGD also came off U.S. session highs near 1.2475 to fall below the 1.2450 level to a low of 1.2435. The Nikkei 225 continued its recent gains, but USDJPY saw a steady decline to fall below the ¥93 level. EURJPY was rangebound at 121.50-80 levels, while AUDJPY reached a high of 95.90, largely driven by bullish momentum in AUD. PBoC Deputy Gov Yi commented that market operations could be used to drain liquidity from FX inflows and that the USDCNY was reaching an equilibrium level and intervention has been reduced of late. The USDCNY reference rate was lower at 6.2745 vs 6.2797 prior, a level last seen on Jan 15.
Fixed Income/Commodities
(AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$600M in 4.75% 2015 Notes; avg yield: 2.7842%; bid-to-cover: 3.32x
GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall by 8.4 tons to 1,244.9 ton (lowest since 1,243.6 tons in Nov 2011; 11th consecutive session of decline)
(CN) China MoF sells 5-yr Bonds; avg yield: 3.1976%
(US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES CRUDE: +5.6M V -0.5ME (largest build since Aug 2012); GASOLINE: -915K V -0.5ME; DISTILLATE: -1.69M V -1.5ME; UTILIZATION: 82.3% V 84.4% W/W
Equities
China Mobile CHL: Chairman: Looking for M&A opportunities in the global market - China Daily
SOHU: Said to be preparing to delist from Nasdaq as it enters talks on financing for potential going private transaction - Chinese press; +11.9%
RIO: Said to remain confident it can reach June commissioning date for its Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia - AFR
FMG.AU: Challenge against the mining tax (MRRT) proceeding before Australia's High Court - Australian press
Mitsui 8031.JP: To announce construction of a US LNG tank terminal for approx $150M - financial press
TM: May reduce domestic auto output to 2.7M in FY15 - Japan press
AVAV: Reports Q3 $0.17 v $0.37e, R$47.1M v $89.3Me; Cuts guidance on delays in govt procurements; -22.8% afterhours
NTRI: Reports Q4 -$0.18 v -$0.14e, R$62.5M v $63.0Me; -0.7% afterhours
SWHC: Reports Q3 $0.26 (adj) v $0.21e, R$136.2M v $131Me; -2.1% afterhours
LCC: Positive Mad Money mention - CNBC; +3.6% afterhours