• Asian equities saw little in the way of firm direction overnight amid light newsflow and Japan away from market
• AUD was the main mover in FX markets during Asia-Pac hours with AUD/USD slipping below 0.77 following soft retail sales
• Looking ahead, highlights include US NFP, ISM Non-Manufacturing, ECB’s Coeure and Fed’s Kashkari

ASIA

Very quiet session in Asia with newsflow and tier 1 data releases on the lighter side. However, Asian bourses traded with modest gains across the board. The ASX 200 (+0.4%) had been supported by mining names as iron ore prices continued to rise amid reports that capacity curbs in top steelmaking city Tangshan may fall short of expectations. Mixed trade in China with the Hang Seng (-0.3%) marginally higher while the Shanghai Comp (-0.7%) dismissed the firmer than expected Services PMI reading. Elsewhere, Apple suppliers (Hon Hai and Largan Precision) in Taiwan have outperformed, which initially lifted the Taiwanese Index (-0.1%)after strong earnings from Apple. As a reminder, Japanese markets were closed for culture day.

PBoC sets CNY mid-point at 6.6072 (Prev. 6.6196)

PBoC drains a net CNY 110bln via open market operations this week vs net CNY 390bln injection last week. (Newswires)

EUROPE/ UK

Brexit may cost Germany EUR 5bln extra in EU contributions, according to Bild. (Newswires)

ECB's Weidmann (Hawk) again suggests that loose monetary policy may pose dangers for financial stability. (Newswires)

FX

AUD underperformed vs its peers, slipping tspanough 0.77 against the greenback after some rather sluggish retail sales data, whereby September’s reading were unchanged, below consensus of a 0.4% rise. The figures had been hampered by weakness in household goods and clothing. AUD/NZD also dipped to session lows, however the cross found support at 1.10. Aside from AUD, FX markets have been particularly rangebound during Asia-Pac trade.

Australian Retail Trade (Q3) 0.1% vs. Exp. 1.2% (Prev. 1.5%)

- Retail Sales MM (Sep) 0.0% vs. Exp. 0.4% (Prev. -0.6%, Rev. -0.5%)

COMMODITIES

Oil prices edged higher, continuing its recent trend with the growing sense that the current production cuts will be extended until the end of 2018. Gold prices traded in sideways fashion with the price of the precious metal up slightly.

GEOPOLITICAL

North Korean says US B-1B bombers flew over Korean Peninsula on Thursday and carried out bombing drills, according to KCNA. (Newswires)

US

The 5s30s curve continued to flatten to fresh multi-year lows on Thursday, to the lowest since 2007, after details of the proposed GOP House Tax Bill emerged. Yields were also under pressure tspanough the session on expectations that US President Trump would name Governor Jerome Powell as the new Fed chair, replacing incumbent Janet Yellen in Q1 2018. However, after Powell was officially nominated, there was little reaction. US T-Note futures for December settled 7+ ticks higher at 125-05+

President Trump nominated Powell to succeed Yellen as Fed Chair when her term ends in February 2018. (Newswires)

Apple (AAPL) - Q4 EPS USD 2.07 vs Exp. USD 1.86, revenue USD 52.67 vs Exp. USD 51.17bln, iPhone Units sold 46.7mln vs Exp. 46.1mln, sees Q1 revenue between USD 84bln- 87bln vs. Exp. 84.5bln. Shares rose as much as 3% after market.