Asia Morning Bites - 24.04.2023

Global Macro and Markets

• Global Markets: US stocks failed to make headway on Friday, with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ finishing less than 0.1% higher than the previous day. Chinese stocks fared even worse, with the Hang Seng down 1.57% and the CSI 300 dropping 1.96% on the day. Stronger-than-expected US PMI data may have dampened thoughts about Fed rate cuts later this year and weighed on stocks, though there were also geopolitical developments as a Chinese diplomat raised questions about the sovereign status of the Baltic States. Russia also threatened to end the Black Sea grain deal over proposed EU export bans. US 2Y Treasury yields rose 3.9bp to 4.182%, while yields on the 10Y Treasury bond rose 4.0bp to 3.572%. EURUSD is closing in on 1.10, and briefly edged above this level a few hours ago, though is wavering at about 1.0992 at the time of writing. The AUD is looking less robust and fell back below 67 cents on Friday where it remains in early trading today. Cable has managed to hold its ground against the USD, recovering from losses on Friday to sit at 1.2450.  The JPY is also about unchanged from this time last Friday at 134.02. Friday was a poor day for other Asian FX, which lost ground across the board, though not very much, while many economies were off for public holidays.
• G-7 Macro: On Friday, US PMIs registered some stronger activity. This was mainly concentrated in the service sector, where the index rose to 53.7 from 52.6, though the manufacturing sector index also rose to 50.4 from 49.2. Today is a quiet day for macro data, with Germany’s Ifo survey for April the pick of the day.
• Singapore: Singapore reports March inflation today (13:00 SGT), and the consensus is for 5.5%YoY headline inflation and 5.1%YoY core inflation.  Both measures are expected to ease from the previous month but remain above the central bank's target.  We expect to see inflation moderate in the coming months but the Monetary Authority of Singapore may only consider adjusting its policy settings once inflation is close to or back to target. 

Read next: Central banks: Our latest calls ahead of a dramatic month| FXMAG.COM

What to look out for: Singapore inflation

• Singapore inflation (24 April)
• Taiwan industrial production (24 April)
• South Korea GDP (25 April)
• Hong Kong trade (25 April)
• US new home sale and Conference Board consumer confidence (25 April)
• Australia inflation (26 April)
• New Zealand trade (26 April)
• Singapore industrial production (26 April)
• US durable goods orders (26 April)
• Thailand trade (26 April)
• South Korea business survey manufacturing and non-manufacturing (27 April)
• US GDP and initial jobless claims (27 April)
• South Korea industrial production (28 April)
• Japan labour market data (28 April)
• Australia PPI (28 April)
• Taiwan GDP (28 April)
• US personal spending (28 April)