Weekly Commodities Update

Global Market Quick Take: Asia – March 10, 2023

Macro 6 minutes to read
Saxo Be Invested
APAC Research

Summary:  U.S. banking stocks tumbled on Silicon Valley Bank’s liquidity crisis and bond portfolio losses as well as the winding-down of Silvergate Capital, a crypto-focused bank. The KWB Bank index tumbled 7.7%. Yields on the 10-year Treasuries dropped to 3.90%. All eyes today are on the Bank of Japan meeting and the U.S. employment report.


Market Data 2023-03-10

What’s happening in markets?

US equities slide with banking stocks being heavily pressured

Banks were front and center in yesterday’s sell-off in U.S. equities. Financials plunged 4.1% and were the biggest loser among the 11 S&P 500 sectors. The KWB Bank Index tumbled 7.7%, its biggest drop since June 2022. The S&P 500 broke below its 200-day moving average, a key support level, and ended 1.9% lower, while the Nasdaq 100 shed 1.8%.

SVB Financial (SIVB:xnas), parent of Silicon Valley Bank, suffered a record 60% crash in share prices after the bank said it suffered from a liquidity crisis and sold off a swad of securities in a portfolio that’s been hit by significant losses. Silvergate Capital (SI:xnys) plunged 41.8% following the crypto-focused bank said that it was winding down and returning deposits to customers. Bank of America (BAC:xnys) plunged 6.2%; JP Morgan Chase (JPM:xnys) shed 5.4%.

Oracle (ORCL:xnys) dropped 4.1% in extended-hour trading following reporting inline revenue and earnings beat but a miss in cloud license and on-premise license.

Yields on U.S. Treasuries dropped on a spike in jobless claims and bank stocks woes

A bounce in initial jobless claims to 211K (consensus 195K) from 190K triggered the short-covering in the front end ahead of the employment report which is scheduled to release on Friday. The buying intensified as banking stocks tumbled on woes on Silvergate Capital and SVB Financial. Large block buying emerged in the June 2023 SOFR contracts. Yields on the 2-year plunged 20bps to settle at 4.87%. The 10-year yield dropped 9bps to 3.90%. The 2-10-year yield curve steepened to -97bps,

Hang Seng Index and China’s CSI 300 retreated as the Sino-American tech friction escalated

Hang Seng Index dropped 0.6% and CSI 300 Index slid 0.4%. China’s CPI softened to 1% Y/Y and PPI declined 1.4% Y/Y in February did not excite investors with monetary stimulus expectations but added to the worries about the strength of the economic recovery in China. China consumer names were under selling pressure. Restaurant chains Xiabuxiabu (00520:xhkg) and Haidilao (06862:xhkg) plunged 7%  and 4.5% respectively. China Resources Mixc Lifestyle Services, a leading property management name, dropped 4.7% and was the biggest loser within the Hang Seng Index on Thursday.

The latest announcement from the Netherlands to impose additional restrictions on exports of advanced microchip equipment to China and the U.S. moving close to banning TikTok caused concerns of escalation of the technology friction and geopolitical tension between China and the U.S. The Dutch company ASML is the world’s largest and most dominant supplier of advanced chip-making equipment including the immersion DUV lithography machines in the latest export ban.

State-owned telcos continued to rise, with China Telecom (00728:xhkg) surging 4% and China Mobile (00941:xhkg) climbing 3.1%. COSCO China Shipping Energy Transportation (01138:xhkg) jumped 12.5% as investors anticipated the Chinese tanker and dry bulk shipping operator to benefit from increases in freight rates.

In A-shares, consumer stocks were among the biggest losers with Chinese white liquor, retailer, catering, and tourism stocks leading the charge lower. Semiconductor names gained on anticipation of import substitution.

Australian equities (ASXSP200.I) slide 1.6% on Friday, but are almost steady over the week

Despite the S&P500 sliding 3% Monday to Thursday, the ASX200 is managing to hold almost steady, and is down 0.2% Monday to Friday (at the time of writing). Today most sectors are under water today, bar the defensive, Utility sector, while Financials down the most following alarm bells being rung in the banking sector on Wall Street. Pressure is also being felt in lithium stocks after CATL’s results beat expectations. Meanwhile BHP is trading 2% lower, despite the iron ore (SCOA) price moving up 1% to $129.10.

FX: USD modestly weaker ahead of BOJ and NFP

The rise in jobless claims on Thursday saw yields dipping lower, taking the dollar off the recent highs as well. The Japanese yen saw a recovery with lower yields, and focus now shifts to Bank of Japan meeting which can cause significant volatility. USDJPY finding support at 136 for now after reaching 3-month highs earlier this week on Powell’s hawkish testimony. GBPUSD rose back above 1.19 ahead of UK data dump today likely to show that a recession has been delayed, but focus will shift to NFP later as the key USD driver. CAD remained the underperformer, with USDCAD rising to 1.3830, as Fed-BOC divergence widened and oil prices remained weak.

The choppiness in crude oil prices continued

WTI prices ended the day below $76/barrel after touching highs of $78 earlier, while Brent dipped below $82 from $84 earlier. Even as the jobless claims data cooled, markets were in a flight to safety mode ahead of NFP as jitters on a tighter monetary policy remained. Demand concerns remained despite crude inventory recording its first weekly fall after several weeks of gains. EIA inventory report showed crude stocks down 1.7mn barrels last week vs. expectations of +1.6mn. Signs of a pickup in Chinese demand also remain mixed. The highs earlier in crude oil prices were reached on the back of supply concerns arising out of French refineries because of the nationwide strikes in France.

Gold reverses back higher from support

Gold caught a bid in the run upto the jobless claims release last night, reversing higher from near its support levels at $1800 to reach $1835. Focus turns to NFP today after Fed Chair Powell in his testimony this week opened the door to a 50bps rate hike in March. Now, data will need to confirm the need for that, else expectations may be quick to reverse. Support at 100DMA at $1806 remains key to hold.

 

What to consider?

Jobless claims cool, focus now on NFP data today

Initial claims rose 211k in the week of 4th March, above the 190k prior and the 195k expected. It was the first time that the jobless claims came above the 200k mark since January, and it was the highest claim YTD. The continued claims also rose to 1.718 mn from 1.649 mn, coming in above estimates as well. While this may have raised some concerns that the US labor market is softening, the print is still strong and eyes now turn to the February payrolls data out today in the US. Our full preview is here, which says that Overall message, despite a potentially softer headline print, is likely to be that US labor market is still tight and there are millions of open positions even as layoffs continue to ramp up in some of the sectors. Headline jobs are expected to come in again at 200k+, but risk of disappointment remains given the scope of correction from +517k in January. A strong print could further cement the case for a 50bps rate hike this month.

SVB’s nosedive of 60% highlights the venture capital and tech bubble is spilling to banks- Is this just the beginning?

Investors were spooked by Silicon Valley Bank announcing its  taking emergency steps to shore up capital after suffering a $1.8 billion after-tax loss in the first quarter. SVB sold about $21 billion of securities from its portfolio and plans to raise $2.25 billion. SVB’s shares tumbled 60% on the announcement, taking its shares to its lowest level since September 2016, while erasing $9.6 billion in market value. This reflects the pain of higher interest rates and tighter liquidity on the venture capital start-up bubble and how that’s heavily flown right to banks - who are also now suffering a liquidity crisis. It seem a vicious cycle. While, at the same time, people’s trust in the financial system is weakening, which is why we saw the banking sector heavily sold off on Thursday, with the KWB Bank Index tumbling 7.7%, its biggest drop since June 2022. Not only have we seen floundering prominent startups go bust – such as FTX, but banks have been making exuberant investment in such firms for years. This is all despite banks slowing their pace of investing and offering stingier terms. This not only reflects the hot air been blown into starts up - yet banks have become heavily reliant on such risky and volatile businesses.

Also on Thursday, another California lender, Silvergate Capital Corp, which is targeting cryptocurrency firms, such as FTX, announced its winding down operations, following the meltdown of its financial strength, after digital assets plunged, seeing Silvergate lose billions in deposits. After announcing plans to liquidate, it says it will repay all deposits in full. Silvergate was previously scrutinised by regulators for its dealings with fallen crypto giants FTX and Alameda Research. Silvergate shares sank 40%.

Bank of Japan is the biggest event risk

While data and commentary from officials has been less supportive of the case for further tweaks in Bank of Japan policy, outgoing governor Kuroda is known for his surprises. At his last meeting on Friday, he may want to part with some sparks resulting in a numb yen in the run upto the meeting. We discussed all this and more in our central banks note this week, and significant scope of two-way volatility in the yen is seen.

China’s CPI softened sharply to +1% Y/Y, PPI deep into deflation at -1.4%Y/Y

China’s CPI growth slowed to 1% Y/Y in February, much lower than the consensus estimate of 1.9%. Growth in food prices decelerated to 2.6% Y/Y from 6.2% Y/Y while growth in non-food prices halved to 0.6% Y/Y in February from 1.2% in January. PPI slide 1.4% Y/Y in February, bringing the producer prices deeper into deflation.

US-India ties expand into semiconductors

The US and India are looking to sign an agreement to boost coordination of their chip industry to focus further on information sharing and policy dialogue, as India forges ahead to boost its presence in the global technology supply chain amid China’s crackdowns on the private sector and growing geopolitical issues.

CATL delivers stronger than expected results underscoring surging EV demand

China’s Contemporary Amperex Technologies Limited (CATL), the world's biggest battery maker and Tesla’s battery supplier, delivered results eclipsing estimates, amid stronger EV demand, while its results also cement CATL as the industry leader. Net income surged 93% y/y, to 30.72-billion-yuan, vs 28.8 billion yuan expected – with both its power battery and energy storage division’s revenue growing far more than expected amid clean energy demand. Power battery revenue rose to 236.59 billion yuan, up from the 91.49-billion-yuan same time last year - while exceeding the 228.46-billion-yuan consensus expected. That said, its power battery gross margin came in at 17.2%, on par with estimates – as EV sales growth in China slowed in Q4 as the economy was hit by a wave of COVID-19 infections with Tesla cutting output in Shanghai, with CATL suffering rising inventory. That said, CATL’s outlook seems bright and it’s continuing its global expansion, planning to set up 13 production bases, including in Germany and Hungary, with five R&D centres. It recently licensed its LFP battery technology for Ford to use in a new $3.5 billion EV battery plant – which Ford will run in Michigan. 

We expect CATL’s results will continue to grow strongly given COVID disruptions came to an end. Fitch suggests EV sales in China will account for 35% of vehicles sales this year, up from 27% in 2022. EV sales grew 60% in 2022 to 10.4 million units and are expected to reach 13.9 million units this year, with most growth in China, according to Bloomberg. This also reflects strong demand for EV batteries ahead, as well as the key battery components including lithium, copper, graphite and aluminium. You can explore some of the companies in this space in Saxo's Lithium- Powering EVs equity theme basket. 

CATL's had 37% share of EV battery global market in 2022, which is testament to its cheaper-to-produce lithium-iron-phosphate batteries. In joint second place, South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and China’s BYD Co, with a 13.6% share each.

JD.COM gave a downbeat Q1 revenue guidance citing cautious Chinese consumers

JD.COM (09618) reported Q4 revenue of RMB 295 billion, rising 7% Y/Y, in line with consensus estimates. Benefiting from a 1.4pp Y/Y improvement in operating margin to 2.5%, the e-commerce giant’s non-GAAP net profit came in at RMB 7.66 billion, a 115% increase Y/Y and nearly 40% above consensus. However, the share price of its ADRs plunged 11.3% overnight or 6.2% from its Hong Kong closing price on Thursday, on downbeat guidance on Q1 revenues. JD.COM expects JD Retail’s sales to fall by a low-to-mid single-digit percentage Y/Y in Q1, below analysts’ estimates of 1-3% growth. The Company’s management said the sentiment of Chinese consumers is still fragile and consumers have become more prudent on discretionary items. Reopening might also divert some of the online purchasing to off-line consumption such as dining and traveling.

 

For what to watch in the markets this week – read or watch our Saxo Spotlight.

For a global look at markets – tune into our Podcast.

Quarterly Outlook 2024 Q4

01 /

  • Macro Outlook: The US rate cut cycle has begun

    Quarterly Outlook

    Macro Outlook: The US rate cut cycle has begun

    Peter Garnry

    Chief Investment Strategist

    The Fed started the US rate cut cycle in Q3 and in this macro outlook we will explore how the rate c...
  • Fixed Income Outlook: Bonds Hit Reset. A New Equilibrium Emerges

    Quarterly Outlook

    Fixed Income Outlook: Bonds Hit Reset. A New Equilibrium Emerges

    Althea Spinozzi

    Head of Fixed Income Strategy

  • Equity Outlook: Will lower rates lift all boats in equities?

    Quarterly Outlook

    Equity Outlook: Will lower rates lift all boats in equities?

    Peter Garnry

    Chief Investment Strategist

    After a period of historically high equity index concentration driven by the 'Magnificent Seven' sto...
  • FX Outlook: USD in limbo amid political and policy jitters

    Quarterly Outlook

    FX Outlook: USD in limbo amid political and policy jitters

    Charu Chanana

    Head of FX Strategy

    As we enter the final quarter of 2024, currency markets are set for heightened turbulence due to US ...
  • Commodity Outlook: Gold and silver continue to shine bright

    Quarterly Outlook

    Commodity Outlook: Gold and silver continue to shine bright

    Ole Hansen

    Head of Commodity Strategy

  • FX: Risk-on currencies to surge against havens

    Quarterly Outlook

    FX: Risk-on currencies to surge against havens

    Charu Chanana

    Head of FX Strategy

    Explore the outlook for USD, AUD, NZD, and EM carry trades as risk-on currencies are set to outperfo...
  • Equities: Are we blowing bubbles again

    Quarterly Outlook

    Equities: Are we blowing bubbles again

    Peter Garnry

    Chief Investment Strategist

    Explore key trends and opportunities in European equities and electrification theme as market dynami...
  • Macro: Sandcastle economics

    Quarterly Outlook

    Macro: Sandcastle economics

    Peter Garnry

    Chief Investment Strategist

    Explore the "two-lane economy," European equities, energy commodities, and the impact of US fiscal p...
  • Bonds: What to do until inflation stabilises

    Quarterly Outlook

    Bonds: What to do until inflation stabilises

    Althea Spinozzi

    Head of Fixed Income Strategy

    Discover strategies for managing bonds as US and European yields remain rangebound due to uncertain ...
  • Commodities: Energy and grains in focus as metals pause

    Quarterly Outlook

    Commodities: Energy and grains in focus as metals pause

    Ole Hansen

    Head of Commodity Strategy

    Energy and grains to shine as metals pause. Discover key trends and market drivers for commodities i...

Disclaimer

The Saxo Bank Group entities each provide execution-only service and access to Analysis permitting a person to view and/or use content available on or via the website. This content is not intended to and does not change or expand on the execution-only service. Such access and use are at all times subject to (i) The Terms of Use; (ii) Full Disclaimer; (iii) The Risk Warning; (iv) the Rules of Engagement and (v) Notices applying to Saxo News & Research and/or its content in addition (where relevant) to the terms governing the use of hyperlinks on the website of a member of the Saxo Bank Group by which access to Saxo News & Research is gained. Such content is therefore provided as no more than information. In particular no advice is intended to be provided or to be relied on as provided nor endorsed by any Saxo Bank Group entity; nor is it to be construed as solicitation or an incentive provided to subscribe for or sell or purchase any financial instrument. All trading or investments you make must be pursuant to your own unprompted and informed self-directed decision. As such no Saxo Bank Group entity will have or be liable for any losses that you may sustain as a result of any investment decision made in reliance on information which is available on Saxo News & Research or as a result of the use of the Saxo News & Research. Orders given and trades effected are deemed intended to be given or effected for the account of the customer with the Saxo Bank Group entity operating in the jurisdiction in which the customer resides and/or with whom the customer opened and maintains his/her trading account. Saxo News & Research does not contain (and should not be construed as containing) financial, investment, tax or trading advice or advice of any sort offered, recommended or endorsed by Saxo Bank Group and should not be construed as a record of our trading prices, or as an offer, incentive or solicitation for the subscription, sale or purchase in any financial instrument. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, would be considered as a marketing communication under relevant laws.

Please read our disclaimers:
Notification on Non-Independent Investment Research (https://www.home.saxo/legal/niird/notification)
Full disclaimer (https://www.home.saxo/legal/disclaimer/saxo-disclaimer)

Saxo Bank A/S (Headquarters)
Philip Heymans Alle 15
2900
Hellerup
Denmark

Contact Saxo

Select region

International
International

Trade responsibly
All trading carries risk. Read more. To help you understand the risks involved we have put together a series of Key Information Documents (KIDs) highlighting the risks and rewards related to each product. Read more

This website can be accessed worldwide however the information on the website is related to Saxo Bank A/S and is not specific to any entity of Saxo Bank Group. All clients will directly engage with Saxo Bank A/S and all client agreements will be entered into with Saxo Bank A/S and thus governed by Danish Law.

Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc, registered in the US and other countries and regions. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.