Economic Data
(AU) AUSTRALIA NOV CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 2.2% V 2.6% PRIOR (lowest since Mar 2009)
(AU) AUSTRALIA OCT RBA FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRANSACTION: 275M V 396M PRIOR
(AU) AUSTRALIA OCT NEW MOTOR VEHICLE SALES M/M: -2.8% V +4.6% PRIOR; Y/Y: 8.6% V 14.1% PRIOR
(JP) JAPAN Q3 HOUSING LOANS Y/Y: 3.0% V 2.7% PRIOR
(JP) JAPAN OCT TOKYO CONDOMINIUM SALES Y/Y: -14.4% V -9.3% PRIOR
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND NOV ANZ CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX Y/Y: +3.3% V -1.3% PRIOR (first rise in 3 months); ANZ CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: 114.1 V 110.5 PRIOR
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND OCT BUSINESS NZ PMI: 50.5 V 48.5 PRIOR (first expansion in 5 months)
(NZ) NEW ZEALAND OCT ANZ NZ JOB ADS M/M: -0.8% V -2.9% PRIOR
(SG) SINGAPORE SEPT RETAIL SALES M/M: -0.5% V +1.4%E; Y/Y: 2.5% V 3.9%E; RETAIL SALES EX-AUTOS Y/Y: 3.9% V 4.1%E
(KR) South Korea Oct Export Price Index m/m: -1.9% v 0.3% prior; y/y: -5.2% v -1.9% prior; Import Price Index m/m: -3.3% v 0.9% prior; y/y: -6.4% v -2.4% prior
(JP) Japan investors bought net ¥378.4B in Foreign Bonds last week vs bought net ¥56.0B prior week; Foreign Investors sold net ¥79.0B in Japan stocks last week vs sold ¥27.7B in prior week
Markets Snapshot (as of 04:30GMT)
Nikkei225 +1.4%
S&P/ASX -0.9%
Kospi -1.4%
Shanghai Composite -0.5%
Hang Seng -0.9%
Dec S&P500 +0.3% at 1,355
Dec gold +0.2% at $1,725/oz
Dec Crude Oil +0.1% at $86.35/brl
Notes/Observations
Asian equity markets are down across the board following another session of outsized declines in US indices, where weak retail sales combined with political logjam and more Congressional verbal sparring continued to weigh on sentiment. Nikkei225 is the lone exception, rallying impressively on the heels of more selling in Japanese yen. Following a surprise consent by Japan's PM Noda to dissolve the lower house and call the elections for December16, opposition LDP leader and the likely next prime minister Abe affirmed he would take a firm stance to help Japan out of deflation through more aggressive monetary policy.
Specifically, Abe said he favors unlimited easing by the BoJ until deflation ends, urging the central bank to cut benchmark rate to zero or lower and also raise its inflation target from 1% to 3%. USD/JPY spike up about 60pips following those comments, rising to 6 1/2 month high above ¥80.80. EUR/JPY rose about 90 pips on the day toward the ¥103 handle, while AUD/JPY was up 70 pips above ¥83.70. Otherwise, the Aussie dollar struggled against other currencies, hitting week-long lows after a large decline in November consumer inflation expectations.
China power transition unfolded mainly in line with the script, as Xi Jinping took over from Hu Jintao as the General Secretary of the Politburo Standing Committee. That body will now be comprised of 7 members - a slimmed down version of prior 9-member group of operatives - that is seen as fairly conservative, with two of the more controversial candidates who were disciples of President Hu not named to the high committee. Speaking to the press, Xi Jinping said he will work to help China achieve better education, health, and environment.
Fixed Income/Currencies/Commodities
USD/JPY: Rises above ¥80.70; 6-month highs following comments from LDP's Abe.
AUD/USD: Extending decline to 1-week lows below $1.0355 after decline in Australia inflation expectations
USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.2905 v 6.2252 prior close (first weaker setting in 8 days)
USD/CNY: (CN) China's CNY currency (Yuan) again hits the upper limit of its daily 1.0% range on OTC market at 6.2276
JGB: (JP) Japan's MoF sells ¥1.10T 20-yr 1.7% JGBs; Avg yield: 1.681% v 1.689% prior; bid-to-cover: 3.67x v 3.81x prior
GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall by 2.4 tons to 1,336.3 tons (lowest since Nov 6th)
(US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES CRUDE: +1.35M V +1.5ME; GASOLINE: -100K V +250KE; DISTILLATE: +185K V -500KE; UTILIZATION: 83.9% V 86.4% W/W
(UK) Moody's issues annual UK credit report; AAA rating (negative outlook) still underpinned by significant structural strengths; To revisit UK rating and outlook in first few months of 2013
Speakers/Political/In the Papers
(JP) Japan LDP (opposition) leader Abe: Favors unlimited easing by the BoJ until deflation ends, wants BoJ to cut benchmark rate to zero or lower
(JP) Japan, South Korea and China seen likely to begin free trade talks - financial press
(CN) China 2013 railway investment estimated at CNY530B vs CNY516B for 2012 - Chinese press
(CN) Newly appointed Gen Secy Xi Jinping: Introduces new leadership committee; China wants better education, health, environment - press conference
(GR) Greece Central Bank Gov Provopoulos: Progress being made on restructuring economy
(US) Fed's Williams (Voter, dovish): QE may extend well into H2 of next year; recovery faces serious hurdles; Reiterates expectation that Operation Twist will be replaced with treasury buying; Q4 growth likely to be slower than Q3
(IS) UN Security Council to meet this evening to discuss Israel's military action in Gaza
Equities
SNE: To sell at least ¥150B in 5-year convertible bonds overseas - filing; -8.8%
GNC.AU: Reports FY12 Net AUD 205M, +19% y/y; Board rejects ADM bid, believes it materially unvervalues the company
JHX.AU: Reports H1 net $38.5M, -35% y/y; Rev $674.1M, +4% y/y
FCG.NZ: Fonterra's $500M offer heavyily oversubscribed; Brokers forced to scale back on applications - NZ Herald
NSANY: Exec: Battery car sales growing slower than expected - financial press
NTES: Reports Q3 $0.98 v $1.08e, R$325.4M v $339Me
NTAP: Reports Q2 $0.51 adj v $0.47e, R$1.54B v $1.54Be; +10.2% afterhours
PETM: Reports Q3 $0.75 v $0.63e, R$1.63B v $1.62Be; +6.0% afterhours