Asian Market Update: Asian Exporters Rebound

17.01.2008 09:09 Thursday
- Australian unemployment drops in December: (AU DEC EMPLOYMENT CHANGE: 20.1K V 20K expected, prior revised to 47.6K from 52.6K; DEC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 4.3% V 4.4% expected, 4.5% prior) Analysts pointed out that Australian unemployment had been drifting up in the past few months, but this month's fall takes it back toward its lows. That implies the drift up was just a blip and the Australian labor market remains very tight, suggesting that the domestic case for a rate rise seems to be pretty much in place.
- Australian margin calls rise sharply: The Australian Financial Review reports that Macquarie Margin Lending expects to make 300 margin calls today, after making 72 yesterday. Up to yesterday the bank was making about 60 a day. CommSec made 500 margin calls yesterday and Adelaide Bank made 282, beating a record 131 made last Tuesday. Up to then it had been making between 20 and 50 a day.
- Australians expect inflation to rise: (AU JAN CONSUMER INFLATION EXPECTATION: 13.7% V 14.2% prior) The proportion of respondents expecting annual inflation to be within the Reserve Bank of Australias target band of 2% to 3% dipped to 13.7% in January, from 14.2% in December. The survey showed the median expectation of price increases in the coming year climbed to 4.4%, from 4.1% in December.
- Equities: At 22:55 ET Japan's Nikkei is +0.14%, the S&P/ASX200 index is -0.26%, South Korea's KOSPI is -0.23% and the Shanghai Composite index is -2.70%. The S&P futures contract moved to a session high at 1382.41, but then pulled back to 1377.51, trading +0.14% between 16:30 ET and 23:00 ET. Bargain hunting supported the Nikkei, with real estate firms and exporters trading sharply higher. Some investors feel that worries over Japan's subprime exposure are overdone, and selective buying was seen among the Japanese financials. Mizuho Financial traded higher by more than +4.0%. The S&P/ASX200 opened higher, but eventually revered into the red as miners were dragged lower on global growth concerns. Centro Properties saw a technical rebound, while Australian banks traded higher. Chinese equities traded lower after the central bank's decision to raise the reserve requirements for banks.
- Commodities: Nymex crude oil saw some bargain hunting in Asia, gaining +0.21% between 16:30 ET and 23:09 ET. Spot gold is little changed despite volatility on Asian stock markets. Shanghai copper is higher on a technical rebound.
www.tradethenews.com